Survival
by artgurl8D
Summary: How do you live in a place you don't know? How do you find your way home? How do you survive?
1. Chapter 1

Together, Legolas and Aravis walked side by side, but they might as well have been a thousand leagues apart. They were chained separately, unable to provide comfort or even to touch each other's hands. The males were changed to the males and the females to the other females. All marched together through the hot, dark, damp and musty room. The two elves, along with the other thirty or so men and women, had their hands chained together in front of them with large manacles. The wrist manacles were linked to another manacle that was around their necks. There was another link that chained all the neck manacles in the group together. The group was split in two lines. Up ahead towards the front of the lines, the two groups were separated. The men were merging off to the left and the woman to the right. There were guards posted every few feet to keep the groups moving.

The heat and smell in this room was oppressive. It made it difficult to breath. Many were gasping for air from adrenaline and fear and others were whimpering. However, Legolas and Aravis kept their faces calm and their emotions in check as they were taught. They were warriors and they had to be brave.

Legolas and Aravis were lucky enough to be walking side by side. Discretely checking on Aravis, Legolas looked at the elleth. Aravis was strong, and she was hiding her fear well. To anyone else, she would appear calm and collected, but to Legolas, he could see the fear and uncertainty in her big, brown eyes. He knew her well. Her braided brown hair was plastered with sweat and it stuck to her face.

Aravis, who had been looking towards the front of the line, felt Legolas's eyes on her. Turning to meet his gaze, she saw her own fears reflected in his eyes. He was afraid too. They were all afraid. Legolas looked tired and he was exhausted. His hair was also plastered with as much sweat as her own hair was. She could feel the sweat trickling down her temples and her back and chest.

Aravis tried to muster up as much of an encouraging smile as she could. Legolas did the same.

Slowly, the group moved forward. Both lines would take a few steps, and then stop for a few minutes. Then they would take a few more steps, and then stop. Every time they would stop, a new cry of agony would be heard from both the men and woman's sides of the room. Every new cry brought new flinches to those still left in the line.

The two elves were close enough now that they could see the end of the line. Every time the lines stopped, the persons at the front of both lines were unchained from the rest of the lines and brought forward. A few minutes later, fresh cries would erupt. The next man that was about to be taken to the left attempted to break away but the muscled soldiers guarding the groups began to beat the chained man.

The guards took the man away, and the lines moved forward again.

Finally, Aravis and Legolas were at the beginning of the line. Two guards came to each of them and unhooked them from the rest of the line. Each guard grabbed an arm and proceeded to escort them forward. Aravis panicked for a moment and started to struggle. One of the large guards back handed her face, and Legolas heart beat increased and he lunged forward to try to reach her, to protect her.

Legolas's two guards tightened their hold on him, dragged him backwards and the one on the left punched him in the gut. Legolas doubled over as Aravis was dragged away. As Legolas tried to regain his breath, Aravis's cries joined the others that had gone up in the room in the last hour.

Legolas was dragged by the two guards to the left area and what he saw horrified him. There was a branding iron heating up in a blazing fire being stoked by a tall, dark man. Legolas was going to be branded.

Legolas's breathing increased and he began to struggle and fight the guards, even as he knew the action was futile. He was too tired to put up much of a fight. They continued to drag him forward and tied his right arm in place with leather straps on a small wooden table. The two guards held his body and tired to keep him still. The elf was far stronger than they originally thought. They had never seen an elf before.

The man wielding the branding iron came closer with the hot metal and Legolas's struggles increased even more. The guards could barely hold him down and the guard to the right of the elf struck Legolas hard on the temple with his elbow. The elf suddenly went slack as the branding iron made contact with his skin. His whole body jerked in response.

The hissing sound of his burning flesh and a strangled moan were the last things Legolas heard before darkness claimed him.

* * *

Hey everyone, so i have this new story. I'm hoping to update once a week, but im not confident that i can keep to that schedule. lol

anyway, i know the name Aravis is a blatant rip-off of the character Aravis from the boy and his horse. Buttt i really like the name, so im using it.

if anyones looking for a translation, Aravis can be ( and will be in this story) loosely translated into _A're_ - Sunlight and _Van_- Fair. so for this story her name means fair sunlight.

I'm pretty excited with this story and i will be updating as much as i can as soon as i can.

please give feedback. any reviews are greatly appreciated. i love constructive criticism or positive feedback :D

Thanks so much!


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Legolas was aware of was pain. There was a throbbing pain radiating from his temple and from his forearm. The elf struggled to open his eyes but he did finally manage to accomplish the monumental task.

At first, all he saw was bright white. He moaned in pain as the light seemed to burn through his skull and he reflexively closed his eyes. His stomach rolled with nausea. The oppressive heat in the tent was not helping anything.

Taking a few deep breathes, Legolas slowly opened his eyes to try to get used to the light. Again the light pained him, but he managed to keep his eyes open.

After a few minutes, Legolas was able to discern that he was in a tent, but his vision was blurry and it was difficult to make out details like he was used to. Slowly turning his head so he did not increase his nausea, Legolas was able to tell that the tent was large, and there were a lot of sleeping pallets spread out over the floor. There were urns spread out between every few palettes on a floor made of rugs.

A sharp cry rose from outside the tent, and listening closely, Legolas could hear a lot of noise and yelling coming from outside.

Legolas rolled to his side, propped himself up on his elbow and slowly made the ascent to sitting upright. This task left him tired, his vision spinning, and his stomach rolling with unease. Swallowing, Legolas felt his temple. There was a large gash there, but at least the wound was healing. He suspected he had a concussion. Moving on to his forearm, Legolas discovered a cloth binding a hidden wound. He found where the end of the cloth had been tucked into the bandage. Legolas undid the cloth and slowly began to unwind it.

Legolas uncovered a patch of angry, inflamed, red skin. His right forearm was burned with a Haradric rune. There were five short, connected lines that ran horizontally. There was one curved line attached to the last short line that ran more vertically. Between the top two lines, there were two dots. The whole brand ran about three inches in length.

Legolas could do nothing but stare at his arm. He had been marked …. as a slave. A Haradric slave.

Another cry rent through the air and reflexively, Legolas's head snapped towards the noise.

The sudden movement almost made his stomach rebel as the room tilted dangerously, but his mind was already working in overdrive. "Where was Aravis?" he thought. "Was that her?" he needed to find her. Now.

As quickly as he could, Legolas got to his feet. The room tilted again, and he stumbled forward. He managed to catch himself before he could hit the ground and made his way to the entrance flaps of the tent.

Throwing back one of the flaps, the intense, bright light assaulted his eyes and he promptly threw up.

The pounding in his head increased as he retched and finally when the involuntary action ceased, he realized there were arms keeping him from hitting the ground completely.

Blearily opening his eyes, Legolas took in the land around him. For leagues, all his elf eyes could see was sand. Sand, dunes and more sand.

Slowly turning watery, blue eyes towards his supporter, Legolas saw a deeply tanned, elderly man kneeling in the sand with him, holding him up with wrinkly, weathered hands. The old man was balding and the few white hairs at the top of his head stood out starkly against his dark skin. The skin around his eyes was heavily wrinkled, like he had spent a long time squinting, and his eyes bore…. kindness. Legolas did not see the hostility that he would have expected from a Haradrim, but he saw compassion.

"Are you alright, Master Elf? Do you feel any better?" the old man asked with a gravely and strangely accented Westron. Legolas gave a small nod as his answer. "You have been sleeping since they brought you from the branding room. It is now almost sunset."

Surprise and shock crossed the fair beings features and the old man's white brows furrowed together.

"My name" the old man began again, "is Housyar. What is your name, Master Elf?"

"Le-"the elf coughed to clear his dried and suddenly constricted throat before he tried again, "Legolas."

"Le-go-las," Housyar slowly pronouced. "Legolas," he repeated again and added thoughtfully "I have never met an elf before." as he inspected the deep gash and surrounding bruise on Legolas's temple.

Tightening his grip on Legolas's arms, Housyar slowly began to stand and he brought Legolas up with him. The tall elf would have fallen over if not for the old man's strong grip keeping him steady. Housyar opened his mouth to speakagain but he was cut off by a sharp cry of "Legolas!"

A moment later Aravis was suddenly in Legolas's field of vision, supporting him with one hand on his chest and one hand on his back. Legolas saw the worry on her face and with his hand, he squeezed her hand on his chest. "I'm alright." he mumbled and stood up a little straighter. He got a good look at her. Her right cheek was grazed and bruised and the right part of both of her lips were cut and swollen. She was wearing tight wrapped cloth around her chest, like something she would have worn under her tunic. The whole under-tunic stopped short a few inches below her collar bones and came down a few inches below her ribs. Around her waist, she was wearing a cloth wrap with shortened breeches that stopped above her knees. Her skin was pink, like she had spent the day out in the sun.

And on her right forearm, there was a piece of clothe like there had been on his arm. Sadness filled him as he realized that she too bore the same slave's mark. She did not deserve this. The sadness he felt was swiftly followed by anger.

"Are you alright?" he quickly asked. She gave a small nod in reply, understanding his thought process, as they both heard footsteps coming up behind them. Aravis touched is face in a comforting gesture.

Housyar, Legolas and Aravis turned around to see the rest of the slaves coming up behind them. He knew they were slaves by the brand or the cloth bandage he saw on their forearms. All the women in the group were dressed in a similar style of Aravis's clothes and the men were wearing a cloth wrapped around their waists with shortened breeches. They wore no tunics.

There were also heavily armed guards escorting the slaves from the fields and some of those guards were carrying whips. Well, the whips explain the cries that had woken Legolas up.

"Come,"Housyar said a bit louder for everyone to hear, "it is the end of the day. Let us eat." He gestured with his hand towards a tent directly across from the tent Legolas came out of and he said a few words in Haradric.

As one, the group of slaves made their way towards the place Housyar had gestured towards. Legolas used the short walk to look around. There were three tents; the one Legolas had come out of, the one where they were going to eat, and another right next to the first. There was a large field to the east and Legolas could hear a river to the east as well. To the north, there was a large, decorative stone structure. To the north east, there was a building that looked to be a barracks.

And to the south and the west, there was nothing but sand.

Pushing back the tent flaps, Housyar lead the other slaves into the eating area. There were mats in small circles, a fire pit in the middle and a whole at the top of the tent to let the smoke out. While the cooks were taking care of the food, the other slaves waited in line. Housyar turned to make sure the elves and the new slaves were well. The elves… he had never seen elves before, but the rumors he heard were true. They were fair creatures. Ethereal.

Housyar was an old man, and he could read people very well. He saw the young elf maiden walking next to the young blonde elf, ready to catch him if he should get dizzy. That was a bad head wound the elf had. She was protective of him as he was of her. He could tell by their stance. They were strong in spirit, but he was unsure of how strong they were in body. They seemed ….frail. He was unsure if they would survive the desert. He would be sure to look after them.

After getting their food, people began to sit down on the mats and eat. Housyar saw the uncertainty on Legolas and Aravis's faces. The old man had to keep it in mind that the elves did not speak Haradric. Housyar motioned for them to follow him and he led them to a large circle of mats. Motioning for them to sit, Housyar sat down and began to eat.

Legolas and Aravis did the same. The bustle in the tent was loud, but they could not understand a word of what was spoken around them. A moment later, a tall, muscular man with light brown hair took a seat beside Legolas and next to the man, a younger man with blonde hair and a young boy sat down too. Legolas immediately noticed that the man next to him and the younger man were not Haradric.

While eyeing them curiously, Legolas continued to eat. Feeling the elf's eyes on him, the brown haired man turned to Legolas.

"I am Glaeder son of Garomer, Captain of the Third Guard of Gondor. This" pointing to the blonde, young man next to him, "is Eothaid son of Ethain of Rohan and this little boy over here, "he pointed to the dark haired little boy sitting next to Eothaid, " is Kontar. We were brought here to Harad eight years ago, Master Elf. Well, Eothaid and I were. Kontar is Haradric. "

"I am Legolas of the Woodland Realm," he gestured to himself, "and this is Aravis of Orodost. Well met, sons of Gondor and Rohan."

Glaeder inclined his head, wiped his left hand on his breeches and stuck out his hand to shake Legolas's hand in a warrior's grip. Legolas accepted the hand and then he felt Housyar's eyes on him. The old man had a kind smile on his face.

After the evening meal, the slaves split up between the two tents to sleep. The sun had set and the temperature was swiftly dropping. Aravis led Legolas over to their sleeping palettes and Legolas noticed that they were close to Housyar, Glaeder and Eothaid and the little boy, Kontar. Glaeder came over and brought both elves blankets and went back to his own palette by the Eothaid and Kontar.

Legolas accepted the blankets with a nod of thanks, and looked on with curiosity. Eothaid and Kontar seemed to look up to Glaeder. He was … their protector… or like their father.

Laying down on his palette next to Aravis, He turned on his side so he could face the elleth. All the slaves laid down and eventually the noise and chatter died down as well. Over an hour later, Legolas was unable to find sleep and he could tell Aravis did not sleep either.

Aravis pulled her blanket further up her shoulder and Legolas scooted a bit closer. Aravis was cold and Legolas put an arm around her to share some body heat. Aravis immediately relaxed into him and let out a shaky sigh.

"What is it?" Legolas softly asked.

She responded with a mumbled, "I am afraid." and Legolas tightened his grip, trying to offer her whatever comfort he could. "Do not worry Ari," he responded reassuringly, using the childhood name he always used for her, "we will escape this place."

Aravis released a breath and Legolas could feel her shoulders shake. Aravis was crying and Legolas's eyes widened.

"The guards are always watching the horses," she whispered softly, "and they are always watching the slaves. They are always patrolling the grounds. It is a twenty days march across the desert. This is the only oasis between here and Gondor. Even we would not survive the heat with what water we could bring. We would die long before we made it to Gondor."

Legolas took a deep breath before responding confidently, "Well, we were supposed to be in Rivendell by now. Lord Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir will know we are missing. They will find us."

Again, Aravis took a deep breath. She spoke again, but this time her voice sounded chocked, strained.

"But they don't know where to look. We are alone."

* * *

hey everyone! thanks for reading!

ok so translations - I went on a baby names website and looked up a whole bunch of names lol!

Housyar is an Afghan name that means wise one.

Kontar is an Afghan name that means Only child.

Orodost translates into Orod- Mountain and Ost- City , the Mountain city. (I will be explaining this later too)

Im sorry this chapter is a bit slower than the first, but it IS longer :D

Thanks you Snips95, Metoochocolate, and Alicia for your awesome reviews! And dont worry, i will explain how they got there and whats going on!

Please review, let me know what you think. constructive criticism or feedback is awesome! thank you!

i am not a professional writer! any help is appreciated.

Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone, so i totally forgot to mention this (and i rele meant to) but this story takes place about 100 years before fellowship of the ring. -thanks Aranel Mereneth for reminding me!

* * *

Aravis woke the next morning to a view of leaves and sun. Easily keeping her balance on the tree branches, Aravis turned her head and saw Legolas keeping watch on the branch next to her.

Feeling her eyes on her, Legolas turned his head towards the elleth and gave her a loving smile. Aravis smiled too and sat up to find some food for breakfast from their packs. After their breakfast, the two elves continued their trip to Imladris. If they kept on track, they were going to be arriving at the Elven refuge in about three weeks. Right now, the two elves had three leagues to go before they got to the mountain pass of the Misty Mountains.

A few days before, Legolas had come to Orodost, where Aravis lived. Orodost was another Elven refuge that resided in the foot hills of the Grey Mountains. Aravis was the daughter of Halaeth**, **who was one of the two lords that resigned over the city. Legolas needed to deliver a missive to Lord Elrond and Aravis had wanted to come. They hadn't seen each other for six months and this venture was a good excuse to spend some time together.

So the two made their way towards the mountain pass and when midday came, the two elves stopped by a stream in a clearing in the woods to eat a meal and refill their water skins.

The two sat down, taking their time and just enjoying being together and the beautiful day Eru had blessed them with. After they had finished their meal, the two packed up camp and were preparing to leave when they heard the cracking of a branch in the woods.

Both elves stilled and grabbed their weapons, ready to attack the possible threat. Legolas held his twin knives and Aravis held her curved sword poised to attack.

A few moments later, the serene clearing became chaotic as heavily armed men burst through the trees with war cries.

Aravis's heart pounded as she engaged in battle with one of the men. Their weapons clashed and Aravis parried the ruffian's sword, neatly turned on her feet and delivered a killing blow.

There was a moment's respite in the battle and Aravis took a moment to look around. There were nearly thirty men in the clearing. Perhaps the two elves had somehow entered the Men's territory, but they had passed this way before without incident.

The moment's respite was over as another burly man made to attack, and again Aravis dispatched the threat quickly. Time seemed to blur in the clang of weapons and unknown faces.

Suddenly, a cry from Legolas rent through the air and the cry was enough for Aravis to freeze mid-swing at her opponent. Aravis looked wildly looked around, frantically searching for the elf she was betrothed to.

Sensing that her opponent was about to deliver the killing blow, Aravis reacted instinctually with a parry to his wide-aimed blow and she killed him a moment later.

There was a break in the thrall of men and Aravis's eyes widened in shock as she saw Legolas on his knees with a gaping wound below his ribs. There was terrible shock and pain on his face and blood all over him.

Horror filled Aravis's heart and she tried to make her way towards the elf, but she knew she would not make it in time. There was a tall, muscular man about to cleave Legolas's head from his shoulders.

Time seemed to slow as the man's sword fell and Aravis screamed in horror and desperation.

With a jerk, Aravis bolted upright with a strangled gasp on her lips and the sudden movement startled Legolas out of his sleep.

It took a few seconds for Aravis to realize where she was. After a few deep breathes, her heart began to slow its rapid pace and Legolas's comforting presence helped to ground her in reality. The dream had been real, except for Legolas taking a grievous wound. The two elves had been separated and one of the men got a lucky blow on Legolas's head. He had gone down heavily to the ground and Aravis had taken a poisoned dart a moment later. When they had woken, they were bound, gagged and in a caravan on their way to Harad.

Legolas pushed himself up with his left hand and rested a hand on her right shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked worryingly. She nodded her head and answered with a small smile, "Just a dream."

A moment later a loud horn sounded in the distance, and nearly all sixty or so occupants in the tent woke up. Aravis turned to Legolas, took his hands and helped him rise.

Aravis was glad to see Legolas's balance was better than it had been last night. The head wound the guard had given him had given Legolas a bad concussion. Thankfully, elves heal rather quickly.

Housyar, Glaeder and the others were rising. Housyar came to the two elves and he handed Legolas the breeches that the slaves wore. "Come, it is time to eat and then we will work." he spoke again with the strangely accented Westron and a smile.

Aravis and the others left, giving Legolas a moment to change. When he was finished he exited the sleeping tent and was greeted by the incredibly bright light of the sun.

The slaves ate a quick meal before the group before making their way outside again.

Housyar and Glaeder were waiting for Aravis and Legolas at the back of the group as they made their way to the fields.

"This is where we work during the day." Housyar gestured towards the field. "Here we grow Flax, Emmer, Barley, and various vegetables. You have come here during the harvest season or what we call the Shemu. The river by the fields swells for four months out of the year, called Akhet, and then we plant the crops and let them grow for the next the next five months, which is called Peret. During the last three months, we harvest the crops. We harvest the crops with….what do you call it? A …sickle? And then we thrash the grains with a flail to separate the straw from the grain. After that, we winnow the chaff. Do not worry my friends, we will teach you what to do. Just stay close to Glaeder, Eothaid and myself. I know you do not speak Haradric, but we will teach you. Right now, the three of us are the only ones here who speak Westron."

He looked around, before continuing and pointing to a dark skinned, angry-looking man with long dark hair, beady, black eyes and scares on his face and arms. He was armed with a jagged sword, a large dagger and a pronged whip. "That …. is Mehrzad. He is the captain of our guards…. and he is brutal. He will not hesitate to beat you within an inch of your life." He paused before continuing, "Stay close to us. We will try to show you what to do. Come."

So the two elves followed the three men into the field. Both men and women did the harvesting, the thrashing, and the winnowing. Today, Legolas and Aravis were harvesting with their incredibly dulled sickles. There were guards posted every few yards to keep an eye on the slaves. Every guard had a sword, and a whip to keep the slaves in line.

Nearly an hour before sunset, Legolas was quite tired….and thirsty. Every few hours, some of the younger children would come and bring the workers some water in flasks. Sometime around… midday, the children had brought a few hunks of bread. The tall elf straightened up from his work and looked around, hoping to spot the children.

Unfortunately he didn't see them. Letting out a deep sigh, Legolas took the opportunity to look around. Housyar had surprised him. Legolas estimated that his age was probably around sixty, but he was not too sure. He could never really tell with Men. For his age though, he seemed surprisingly fit.

Apparently, working in the fields kept one strong.

Glaeder was also a surprise. The fair elf had not expected to find a Gondorian soldier in the middle of the Haradric desert. Thank Eru for small blessings! If he and Aravis were to escape this hot, fiery…. hell, they could probably use his help.

Turning his head and his thoughts towards Aravis, Legolas noticed that her skin was redder then it had been yesterday. She seemed tired. Her hair was tied back with a leather thong and she was wearing the same clothes she did yesterday. Her clothes were starting to become sweaty.

Looking up at the sun, Legolas realized that he too was covered in sweat and he wondered when they would be able to bathe. He realized that, given the situation, it was ridiculous to even be wondering about such a thing. It was just so hot! He had never really experienced such heat as the Haradric sun. One patrol at home, the woods stayed fairly cool under the trees.

Legolas wanted to ask Housyar, but the old man had explained to the elves shortly after arriving at the fields that the slaves were not allowed to speak more than a few words at a time while the guards were so close. Legolas did notice, however, that all the slaves communicated through a series of complicated hand signals and looks. He was able to catch onto some of the meanings behind the signals, and he noticed that Aravis knew some too. She had already used quite a few today.

Finally, another horn was sounded and Legolas look up again to see that the sun was about to set. Housyar grabbed his sickle and motioned for the two elves to follow him. They made their way back to the tents and went to get their evening meal with the guards escorting them the whole way.

Everyone was hungry. Working in the hot sun for the whole day with only a small midday meal leaves a person very hungry. After getting their food, everyone took seats where they could. The elves followed Housyar to the circle of mats where they had sat last night.

Conversation quickly started up all around the tent.

"So, Legolas, Aravis, I am sure that you have some questions, yes?" Housyar asked, letting the elves decide what they wanted to ask.

After exchanging a brief glance, Aravis broke the silence. "What is this place exactly?"

"This is the land of Farhang of the tribe of Jahandar. The chieftan of Jahandar is Kourash. We are the slaves of Farhang, a subject of Kourash of Jahandar."

It was Legolas who asked the next question. "The Jahandar enslave their own people?"

Housyar took a deep breath before answering. "No, they do not. There are seventeen tribes that make up the Haradrim. Ten of those tribes are the major players and seven tribes that are minor players in the politics of Harad. At this moment of the ever-shifting dynamics of power, Jahandar is the most powerful of all the tribes. Jahandar became this way by conquering smaller, less powerful tribes. My tribe, the Shahbaz , was conquered some…. thirty years ago. There have been many tribes conquered since. War is a constant part of the lives of the Haradrim. Those that are taken alive during war are made into slaves. So, no. The Jahandar do not enslave their own people. They enslave the people of other tribes."

The elves took some time to digest this information. They had already known that Harad was a dangerous place, but they did not realize the whole land was so…. unstable.

Housyar looked on with curiosity and waited for the next question. Finally Legolas spoke up.

"When…. do we bathe?" he asked with a mask of seriousness struggling to hide a smile. Next to the tall elf, Aravis let out an unladylike snort of laughter.

"Tomorrow!" Glaeder barked out with laughter.

After the meal was over, the group began to retire to their tents. As Aravis and Legolas walked back with Housyar , Glaeder and Eothaid, they noticed that the guards were looking at them.

Mehrzad was giving both Aravis and Legolas a look of disgust, hatred and …anticipation. A look that promised pain and that Mehrzad would enjoy it giving it.

* * *

Hey guys! thanks for reading!

so i totally forgot to mention this (and i rele meant to) but this story takes place about 100 years before fellowship of the ring. -thanks Aranel Mereneth for reminding me!

thanks you Aranel Mereneth, snips95 and metoochocolate for your reviews!

ok so - translations (they are all afghan names.) i love baby names websites :D

Mehrzad means Born of the Son.

Jahandar means Owner of the World

Shahbaz means Royal Falcon

Farhang means Well Bred

Kouras means Ancient King

p.s. i dont have a translation for Aravis's father, Halaeth. (ill work on it) lol

ok so im sorry this is starting off a bit slow, but i feel like if i dont take the time to introduce Harad as an actual country with real politics, economics and characters, the story will be lame. but dont worry, it will pick up.

thanks so much for reading and please dont forget to review. i love constructive criticism and feedback! (it makes me work faster!) lol

thanks !


	4. Chapter 4

As promised, the slaves were allowed to wash in the river the next morning. The men bathed upriver and the women bathed downriver. Legolas's skin was red and painful to the touch from spending all day in the sun. Of course, he had been sunburned before, but he imagined that by the time he left Harad, he was going to be very tan.

With a sigh, Legolas unwrapped the bandage around his arm to clean the brand with some water from the river. The burn was healing, but this scar was probably going to last a few centuries at least.

The blonde elf had been paying close attention to the guards since he woke in the tent on the first day. Mehrzad was cruel to the point of being sadistic and he made liberal use of his whip. If the elves wanted to survive, they would need to avoid him or eliminate him completely.

The elves had also noticed that at all times, there were at least fifteen guards guarding the horses and something Glaeder called camels. The elves also found out that the decorative building to the north east was where Farhang, the land owner, lived and that the building to the east was indeed a barracks that housed the guards when they slept.

Even at night, there were at least half of the hundred or so guards on patrol and they rotated posts during the night.

Legolas knew that if Aravis and he were to make an escape, it would be extremely dangerous.

A splash from his right hit the fair elf's face and it caused Legolas to look up in surprise. Kontar had a large, toothy smile erupting from his dark face and Eothaid's lips were twitching in an effort to not smile. Legolas gave the boys a smile of his own before sending a large splash their way. The elf did have brothers after all.

Glaeder's voice interrupted the would-be water fight.

"Master Elf, I must admit, I have heard little more than rumor and speculation about your kin. Is it true that your people are the best archers in all of Middle Earth?"

Legolas thought for a moment before answering, "Well, my kin are skilled fighters and we are taught weaponry at a young age. Archery is one of the weapon's the King's army employs."

Looking around he noticed Housyar and Eothaid paying close attention to their conversation. Legolas supposed they had probably never seen an elf before.

Glaeder's brows furrowed before he responded. "I suppose." He took some water from the river and washed his arm before he asked, "So, Aravis and you are….?" while he pursed his lips, shrugged his shoulder and gestured with his right hand. He left the question hanging, letting Legolas fill in the blanks.

"Betrothed." he answered with a very happy smile on his face.

"I had thought so." Housyar joined the conversation with a nod and grin. "You two seem very close."

Legolas distractedly nodded his head in affirmation. Farther down the stream, Legolas noticed a dark skinned man with one brown eye and one scarred, pale eye watching him with contempt.

"Ah, Atash" Glaeder thought as he followed Legolas's gaze. Ever since Glaeder had been here, Atash, who was blind in one eye, had been a thorn in everyone's side. For some reason, Atash had an axe to grind with Housyar, who was the unofficial leader of the slaves. According to Housyar, the old man's tribe and Atash's tribe had been enemies and it seemed that Atash had not let go of that animosity. Glaeder had come with Eothaid to this hell-hole nearly eight years ago and Atash had been sold to Farhang not two weeks later.

So, Atash went around with the few men from his tribe that followed his orders, challenging everything Housyar said. The half-blind man caused problems for everyone.

Housyar also saw the look Atash was giving the elf and he gave a heavy, weary sigh. Atash was going to be a problem.

After another hot day spent working in the sun, the slaves filed into the tent where they ate. They quickly gathered their rood and began to eat. A commotion from the food line drew the attention of the tent's occupants and all stood to their feet to see what was going on.

Atash was standing above two small girls with his hand raised and ready to strike. Aravis recognized the two children as Asfhan and Boosah. The elleth had helped a young woman named Delaram bathe them today at the river and Aravis had pleated their hair. The two little girls seemed to adore Aravis and they had played with her hair the night before. From what little Haradric Housyar and Glaeder had taught them, Aravis believed the two girls were about eight or nine years old and had no family to speak of.

Aravis leaped forward and threw herself into Atash, trying to come between the two girls and Atash. The dark man had not expected such an attack and was caught by surprise. The two beings sailed for a moment through the air and slammed into the ground with bone jarring force. The momentum kept them rolling.

They came to an abrupt halt as Atash shifted his weight to keep himself on top of Aravis. The elleth quickly realized her disadvantage and began to buck wildly, attempting to throw the heavier man's weight off of her.

Legolas reacted a moment after Aravis charged at Atash, but he was blocked from coming to her aid by four of Atash's fellow tribesmen. The four burly men quickly surrounded Legolas and began throwing punches.

Atash drew back a meaty fist and brought it heavily down onto the she-elf's face. Aravis's head snapped back from the force of the blow. As her vision swam alarmingly, Atash drew his fist back again. The savage obviously had no qualms about hitting a female.

Aravis quickly managed to get her left leg between the man and herself and she heaved with all her might. Again unprepared for the maneuver, the man went flying backwards into one of his kinsmen.

Legolas had taken a few painful punches to the ribs while trying to restrain himself from actually killing one of these fools and he was about to knock the idiot to his left out, when Atash fell into the man on his right. Legolas neatly side-stepped the stumbling man and quickly lashed out at the man to his left with a strike to the spot between the navel and the chest. The man abruptly went down in pain, but the sneering man directly in front of him released a wild right hook. Legolas had to bend backwards to avoid the punch aimed for his face.

As soon as Atash was able to regain his balance, he screamed in rage and charged at the elleth still lying on the ground. Aravis's eyes widened. She had hoped for a moment more to get herself off the ground. Putting her hands above her head, Aravis rolled heel over head and came to a quick standing position. Atash attempted to catch her middle with his shoulder and bring her down, but the lithe female quickly sidestepped and Atash fell on his front.

Legolas managed to right himself from his hasty duck and he quickly stepped forward, raised his elbow and struck the man in the temple. Legolas grinned as he realized that the sneering man was no longer sneering. He was unconscious and now there were only two more men to go. Sensing an attack from behind, the elf struck out behind him as he side-stepped another blow. This man he struck in the neck, not nearly hard enough to kill. Still, the man went down. "One more left." he thought with a predatory smile creeping onto his face.

Atash had managed to regain his feet, but this time he slowly approached the elf, where she waited in a battle ready stance. One foot was forwards, the other behind with her body slightly turned. One hand was held back by her face to protect herself and her other hand was more extended, ready to hit. Atash lashed out with two punches once he was close enough. Aravis took both hits, one to the face and another to her ribs, in order to gain an opening in his defenses. She returned the strikes with two of her own, both on his face.

Atash was shocked by how strong the elf was. She was thin, but he was beginning to realize just how muscular she really was.

Angered, Atash struck out with his right fist hoping to catch Aravis in the face. His fist was blocked by her forearm and she quickly delivered another succession of five punches. Atash's head snapped backwards and his unconscious body fell limply to the floor. A moment later, Legolas's last opponent also fell to the floor, gasping in pain.

Breathing heavily, Aravis turned to make sure Legolas was alright. The handsome elf's nose was bleeding and the smile he gave Aravis was a bloody one. Aravis smiled back and she realized that Legolas's right eye was going to quite swollen tomorrow. It was bruising already.

Aravis licked her split lip and wiped the blood from a cut above her brow as Legolas stepped over the fallen men and made his way to her.

A moment later, Mehrzad and many other guards made their way into the tents. They were blowing their horns, while menacingly brandishing their weapons. A deathly silence filled the tent.

"What happened?" Mehrzad's harsh voice barked in Haradric.

When none of the slave gave a reply, Mehrzad unsheathed his jagged sword and threateningly stalked farther into the tent

"What happened?" he demanded again with a dangerous edge in his voice.

Again, no one replied.

Mehrzad's eyes narrowed as he took in the occupants of the tent. His eyes landed on the two elves. They seemed to be the cause of this, since they were standing in the midst of the five men lying on the floor.

Shouting something in Haradric that neither Legolas nor Aravis understood, Mehrzad pointed at the two elves. Four guards rushed forward and grabbed them by their arms, dragging them forward.

Trying to figure out what was going on, Legolas began to struggle and received a punch to his gut. The guards continued to drag them towards the exit flaps. Right when they were about to leave the tent, Legolas heard Housyar yell that he should not fight them.

Trying to calm his racing heart, Legolas stopped resisting and allowed himself to be led. Legolas looked to his right to make sure Aravis was well and she seemed to be.

Mehrzad lead a group of twenty guards and the two elves towards the east edge of camp. There were two pillars of stone there. Legolas had seen them yesterday, but had not had the time to ask what they were. Now as they drew closer, Legolas knew.

There were sets of chains attached to the pillars. There was a group of chains low enough that a person could sit and another group of chains higher up to force someone to stand. These pillars were used for punishment.

Legolas swallowed nervously and Aravis's eyes widened as the small group arrived. The two elves were chained one to each pillar so that they were standing, facing the stone. Their backs were exposed and they both knew what was coming next. Aravis let out a deep, shaky breath as she tried to get a better view of Legolas and calm her emotions.

However, she did not have much opportunity as one of the guard's whips harshly hit her back. Aravis's back arched in pain and she sucked in a quick breath and was thankful that she was at least wearing an under-tunic. Again, the whip was brought down on her back, biting deeper into her flesh. She nearly cried out from the pain, but managed to bite her lip just in time to stop herself. In the back of her mind, she realized that Legolas's breathing was labored. He was being whipped as well.

The whips came again, but this time with more force. The blood ran down and stained their clothes. Finally after ten lashes, the guards unchained the elves, turned them around, sat them down in the sand and chained them to the lower set.

Mehrzad chuckled as he made his way closer to the pair of slaves, a sadistic grin spreading across his scarred features.

"See you-" the scarred man said smugly in a broken Westron, "three days."

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Hey everyone! thanks for hanging in there!

thank you Metoochocolate and Snips95 for your reviews last chapter!

for those of you who care -

the little girls are Asfhan which means sprinkle and Boosah which means kiss

the young woman i mentioned is Delaram which means calm, peaceful

and Atash means fire.

Thank you guys for reading and please remember to review. i really need feedback! hahaha plus reviews make me work faster :D

thanks so much!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reading!

* * *

Housyar watched as Mehrzad's guards dragged the two elves away. None of the prisoners joined in the fight because they knew what the punishment was, a whipping and spending at least an entire day outside. Knowing Mehrzad though, the elves were probably going to get at least two days outside, which would nearly kill any normal person. The elves were new here and Mehrzad enjoyed teaching new slaves a lesson.

With a shake of his head, Housyar watched as some of Merhzad's guards took away Atash and his men. Since they had been slaves for a long time, their punishment was probably going to be lighter. They would probably be beaten and sent to work again tomorrow in the fields.

When the guards left the tent, the slaves remained silent for at least a minute before the whispers started up. Delaram ran over to Asfhan and Boosah. The two girls were whimpering and the motherly woman tried to comfort them. Taking the two little girls into her arms, Delaram guided them towards Housyar and Glaeder.

"You need to tell Mehrzad that it was not their fault!" Delaram cried out while gesturing with her right hand towards the tent flaps. Delaram, while she was not able to speak Westron, had grown to like the light skinned she-elf. Aravis was quick to smile and helpful with the children. Delaram had been trying to teach her a few words in Haradric over the last few days.

Glaeder and Eothaid and a few other men in the group looked away at Delaram's pleading, but Housyar kept her gaze and spoke with a kind voice.

"You know as well as I do, Delaram, that Mehrzad does not care what is right and what is wrong, who is to blame and who is not. He is trying to teach them a lesson… and I assume he wants to test the elfs's mettle. It will not matter what we say."

Delaram looked pleadingly to Glaeder, who she was very close with. The Gondorian man was brave, perhaps he would do something.

But Light brown haired man ducked his head and looked to the floor. With a shrug of his shoulder's he briefly met the tanned woman's eyes before looking away again. "You know that he is right." He mumbled before gesturing for Delaram and the girls to join them.

Knowing that the men were right, she ushered the small girls to join the circle of mats and sat down herself, saying a prayer for the elves.

That night, the elves sat next to each other, but the chains did not allow them to get close. The cold was bearable, but the elves still shivered. Sleep was hard to find.

The day dawned slowly. The dry, barren desert seemed to glow as the sun rose above the sands. The desert sand rippled as though it was a sea of water and the wind seemed to raise ghostly phantoms from the sand itself. This land was actually quite beautiful, but it was looking to be another extremely hot day.

The sun was nearly intolerable while the elves sat in the sand. The guards kept a respectable distance as they patrolled around the elves. From their vantage point, the elves could barely see the fields, but they had a clear view of the desert.

Every few hours, some new guards would come to relieve the old guards and they traded off every few hours.

And every new set of guards had water skins. The elves had not had water since last night and Legolas was beginning to feel that his tongue was too large for his mouth. Turning to Aravis, he noticed that she was actually asleep. He thanked Eru that the she-elf was getting some reprieve from this stifling heat.

Aravis's legs were stretched out in front of her and he hands were in her lap. Her head was tilted back and her eyes were glazed over in sleep. Her long, brown hair had come undone and was now blowing in the slight, arid breeze. He sighed heavily, wishing there was something to drink.

Following her example, he rested his head against the pillar and tried to sleep, but the pounding in his head made it difficult.

Aravis woke every few hours from a fitful slumber. Legolas and Aravis exchanged a few words during the day and tried to keep an eye out for anyone who might bring them water. No water came and they both tried to rest again.

It wasn't until after night fall that Aravis jerked awake with a cry on her lips. Her stifled outburst woke Legolas and he instinctually pulled against his chains, confusedly searching for Aravis. Aravis's teeth were clenched and she was gripping her leg in pain.

"What happened?" Legolas chocked out hoarsely.

Aravis moaned in pain and managed to grind out "Cramp." After a few minutes of feebly trying to stretch out her leg, the cramp lessened a bit and Aravis let out a ragged breath.

Legolas asked if she was alright and she nodded in response. After that, both elves fell into a fitful sleep. The next day was much the same; cramps, headache and dizziness. The day passed slowly for the two and finally night came again.

Legolas thought that he was going to be grateful for nightfall, but the desert was very cold at night. Now as Legolas shivered uncontrollably, he found himself wishing it was day.

"I feel like my tongue is too big for my mouth!" Aravis weakly exclaimed. Legolas laughed breathily and said "Me too." He did not have the strength to do much else.

Finally early the third day, Kontar and Housyar came out to the pillars with some water skins. They were being escorted by some guards. Legolas jerked awake as the water skin came to his mouth. He instinctually, greedily started to drink the water.

When the water skin was pulled back, Legolas silently moaned. It came out more like a sigh. As the sleep cleared from his eyes, he saw Housyar in front of him.

The guards quickly ushered the old man and the boy to leave and again the two elves were alone.

A few hours later, Legolas heard someone calling his name. Blearily cracking his eyes open, the suffering elf cast his eyes about, looking for the source of the voice. To his left, he saw Aravis still asleep and to the right….was his brother, Belegthon, in the warrior garments of their people.

Belegthon was sitting on the ground, not three feet from Legolas, running the sand between his long, pale fingers. The dark haired elf, from which trait he took after their mother, was looking pensively towards the sun.

Legolas closed his eyes, waited a few moments and reopened them. Legolas attempted to swallow before he spoke.

"Bele-" was all he croaked before he could say no more. His mouth was too dry. Swallowing, he tried again.

"Here?" he asked in a mere whisper around cracked, dried lips. Belegthon slowly turned his intense gaze from the sun to look at his youngest brother. Belegthon's dark brown eyes seemed to pierce Legolas's soul with a knowing look. With a sad shake of his head, Belegthon stretched out his hand to touch Legolas's face and said, "All will be well Asea."

Legolas leaned into his brother's touch with half lidded eyes when Aravis's abused and dry voice startled him to turn his head towards her.

"Legolas?"

Looking back to Belegthon, the blonde elf saw that his brother was no longer there and sadness filled him.

"I saw Laurina." Aravis said with anguish. Laurina had been a childhood friend of Aravis's. The golden haired she-elf had died a century ago.

Belegthon had died when Legolas was still a child. He was just a hallucination.

Exhaustion came over Legolas, and he put his head back against the pillar and slept.

Night came again but this time, Mehrzad came as well. Some of his guards unchained the two seemingly boneless elves and proceeded to drag them towards the sleeping tent. Both Legolas and Aravis could not even stand. They were brought into the tents and many of the slaves rushed forward to catch them as they were dropped.

Neither Aravis nor Legolas were really aware of what was going on. Everything happened in a blur. They found themselves lying on palettes and people around them, giving them water and fruit, trying to rehydrate them.

The two tired elves were kept awake for as long as they could be kept awake. They soon fell into an exhausted sleep with closed eyes. Every hour or so, Housyar would wake Legolas to give him water and Delaram would wake Aravis.

The morning dawned far too soon for Housyar's liking. The elves were not nearly strong enough for another days work, but there was no way Mehrzad would let the elves rest.

When the horns rang out in the early morning, Housyar and the others helped Legolas and Aravis get to their feet. After breakfast, the group made their way to the fields for another days work.

To the east, Farhang watched in curiosity as the slaves made their way towards the fields. The elves were surprisingly hardy, despite their frail bodies.

The breeze blew around Farhang's open balcony in his stone home. Turning on his feet, the plump man walked past the sheer, wall-length curtains towards the plush, reclining chair. Farhang stretched himself out and took a large swallow of the wine from his cup.

The elves, he knew, could be quite valuable to him. Farhang's position in Jahandar could be raised by being the owner of the two creatures.

A conniving smile crossed Farhang's face as he thought of the power he could gain from this…. investment.

A falcon had arrived from Kourash in Sedjet-Merew, Jahandar's capital city. The message it bore was surprising to say the least. The council's Gathering was convening at Farhang's land this year, which was unusual. Usually the Gathering would take place in a more centralized location. Farhang's land was at the fringes of Harad. They were very close to Gondorian land.

Farhang stroked his beard with his left hand as he thought. Having the Gathering all the way to the west was simply an inconvenience for everyone, except for himself. Being the leader of the strongest tribe, Kourash had great sway over where the tribes met for the Gathering. But what purpose would having the Gathering here serve? Why not Sedjet-Merew or at least close to that city? Kourash always had a purpose; the man_ always_ had a plan, but what was it?

Worriedly the heavy man wrung his fingers together. Perhaps Kourash sought to take his land away from him? Perhaps he thought to demote him as if he were some jackal?

Farhang angrily got to his feet and began to pace the polished, stone floor. He would not let Kourash do this! He had served his tribal leader faithfully for many years! Farhang would _not_ let this happen!

A loud clearing of a throat interrupted the man's wild thoughts and Farhang spun on his heels to meet the newcomer.

Mehrzad stood at the doorway with a wicked smile on his face. He had always enjoyed seeing the fat, spineless man squirm.

"I am here, my lord, to go over the acquisitions my guards need this month." Mehrzad stated somewhat haughtily.

With narrowed eyes, Farhang watched the scarred man. Perhaps Kourash was planning an overthrow, seeking to replace Farhang, with Mehrzad?

Farhang walked over to the couch with suspicion in his eyes. No, the guard was sadistic, but he would not do such a thing. Farhang would see to it.

Taking another large swig of wine, Farhang decided that whatever Kourash was planning, Farhang was going to use the two elves as leverage.

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Hey! thanks for reading! i really appreciate it.

Thank you Metoochocolate and Snips 95 for reading and reviewing! you guys have been great. the reviews make me want to keep writing and you guys have been really encouraging. Thanks sooo much!

Metoochocolate- did i explain it better? sorry for the confusion lol

I know i havent explained the Gathering yet but i will.

for those of you who do care -

Belegthon (Legolas's brother) is Beleg- mighty and Thon- pine tree - mighty pine tree ( i figure if Leg's parents names him greenleaf, mighty pine tree isnt tooo much of a stretch lol!)

Laurina ( Aravis's friend) means Golden

Asea ( Legolas's nickname) is Quenya for leaf

Sedjet-Merew (the city) is Egyptian . Sedjet is fire/flame and Merew is desert. so Fire Desert is the name of the city.

ok - character recap.

Mehrzad is the chief guard.

Farhang is the land owner that Legolas and Aravis belong to.

Farhangs tribe is Jahandar, the strongest tribe in Harad

Kourash is the chieftan of said tribe.

Kourash lives in Sedjet-Merew, the city

Housyar (Haradric)is the old man who is the unofficial leader of all the slaves that belong to Farhang

Atash is a trouble making slave

Kontar(male), Asfhan(F) and Boosah(F) are a few slave children.

Delaram- slave woman (Haradric)

Glaeder - Gondorian slave and although not mentioned this chapter, Eothaid is the Rohirric slave

**ANYWAY**, i just want to say thanks to everyone whos reading and i really sppreciate the support.

I am not a professional writer and i would really, really appreciate the feedback and constructive criticism. please let me know what you think! i appreciate it :D

Thank You!


	6. Chapter 6

Legolas was rudely woken up to someone persistently shaking his shoulder. Without opening his eyes, Legolas groaned. The tall elf did not care if it was Ada or Sauron himself trying to wake him! There was no way in Morgoth that he was getting up right now.

The elf turned onto his side, trying to ignore the shaking of his shoulder. Perhaps turning away would discourage whoever it was and they would just leave him alone.

The shaking stopped and Legolas let a small smirk grace his features. Victory!

"Legolas, you must rise." An unfamiliar voice cut through his haze of sleep.

With a furrowed brow, Legolas immediately opened his eyes to his blurry surroundings.

And in that moment he realized that he_ opened_ his eyes.

A spike of fear ran through Legolas as he tried to recall what had happened that left him so unwell to he had slept with his eyes closed. A moment later, his eyesight began to clear and he took in the carpet covered floor.

A despondent sigh escaped his lips as he remembered where he was. Harad.

Rolling towards the persistent voice, Legolas came face to face with a worried looking Housyar. The older man looked sad with his brows drawn together and lips pursed. Without preamble or waiting for a response, the older man helped the weak creature sit up.

The world spun unpleasantly for awhile as Housyar braced Legolas and the elf felt like his back was on fire. If the old man had not kept his steadying hands on the elf, Legolas would have fallen over from the pain and dizziness. Not to mention his skin felt like it was burning too.

Glaeder suddenly appeared in Legolas's view with a bowl of water and rags. Crouching in front of the two, he handed his supplies to Housyar and grabbed Legolas's shoulders as Legolas started to slip backwards again. The Gondorian gently tilted Legolas forward so Housyar could have easier access to the whip marks on the fair being's back. Legolas groaned as the healing flesh stretched and pulled, but he knew that they needed to clean the wounds.

"Housyar is just going to clean your back, alright?" When Legolas gave a tired nod of consent, Housyar began the work of cleaning the stripes. The cuts and, in some places, welts were infected and crusted with dirt and sand. Dried blood ran between the cuts. Wetting a rag with some of the water, Housyar began to wash away the grime.

Legolas tried to suppress a hiss as Housyar cleaned his back. Looking around for something to distract himself with, he saw Delaram and another slave women helping clean Aravis's back behind a sheer curtained area that the women used to change behind. He even saw Asfan and Boosah helping the elleth.

The elf's train of thought was cut off as Housyar cleaned a particularly deep welt. Legolas hissed in pain and arched his back, instinctively trying to get away from the source of pain. Glaeder tightened his steady grip on Legolas as the abrupt jerk made the elf's head spin.

"Sorry." Legolas whispered as he eased himself forwards again.

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew Aravis was sitting next to him, Housyar was in front of him and Glaeder was letting go of his arms.

Looking down, Legolas realized that the two men had bandaged is torso after Housyar had cleaned his wounds.

"Thank you both for taking care of me." He said, looking at the two men whom he was beginning to trust. "I would never have been able to do it on my own."

Both Housyar and Glaeder smiled and Glaeder lightly clapped a hand to the elf's shoulder in response. Eothoaid and Kontar chose that moment to come up to the small group. They bore water skins and fruit for the elves.

Turning his head towards Aravis, Legolas noticed she was wearing a new under-tunic and she looked much better then she had yesterday. Her skin was an angry red, as was his. They were both in a lot of pain.

Delaram came over as the elves ate with two smaller bowls filled with a clear, yellowish…goop. "This – help." the kind woman said in broken Westron as she patted the skin on her arm. She handed a bowl to Housyar before dipping her hand into the other bowl. Taking some of the substance, she rubbed it between both hands, took Aravis's arm, and began to gently spread it around. Housyar did the same to Legolas. The man and woman slowly spread the blessedly cool liquid on all the visible skin and the elves felt much better.

"Aloe" Glaeder called it. "It comes from a strange, prickly plant that grows in the desert. It helps the skin heal."

As soon as the elves had finished the small meal of fruit and water, the morning horn sounded in the distance. Those who were not up quietly woke and began to make their way over to the meal tent. With some help, the elves made their way to the tents with everyone and later they went to the fields.

Aravis was exhausted. Granted, she was feeling better then she had twenty-four hours ago, but she still felt like she could collapse at any moment. Whenever the guards would walk out of sight, the two elves would lie or sit down in the tall grasses. When they would come close again, Housyar would alert them and the two would stand, pretending to do work.

Sitting down again, Aravis let her thoughts wander, staring at the patterns the blowing grasses made. All she wanted to do was go home. Harad was not a place she would have voluntarily visited and she would never, ever be coming back.

"_If _we get out." A small, cynical part of her mind whispered. "No!" she quickly rebuked herself. "We will make it. We will go home!"

Tears flooded her brown eyes, but she would not let them fall. She refused. Bowing her head, she attempted to hide her despair and draw comfort from Legolas's steadfast presence beside her.

Legolas's hand quietly found hers and he intertwined their fingers, providing what comfort he could. Aravis knew that he understood the elleth's need to not make this emotional outburst public knowledge. Smiling slightly, Aravis drew a deep breath and when her eyes had cleared, she met Legolas's searching gaze. He always knew exactly how she felt.

Still, she marveled at how close the two of them were. Most elves did not reach this level of connection until they were married for quite a few centuries. They were still only betrothed and had been for a little over two centuries. The two of them could usually feel each other's strong emotions through their… bond.

Aravis could not really recall a time when the bond had not been there. She had not been aware of it when they were children, for sure, but she had felt the stirrings of it before the two elves began to court. It seemed that their souls had chosen each other and she was more than happy to comply. She wondered though, if they would ever be able to speak into each other's minds as Galadriel and Celeborn did.

Glaeder's voice broke through the silence as he took a seat next to the two elves. "I am glad to see you both doing better. Few can survive three days without water in Harad and still manage to work in the fields the next day."

"I am beyond exhausted!" Legolas exclaimed good- naturedly with a smile.

Glaeder's eyes flicked back and forth between the two elves. They were giving each other comfort and anyone could easily see that they loved each other. It had been hard when Glaeder was first brought here. He had only had Eothaid to comfort him, since he too was from western Arda, but Eothiad had only seen thirteen years when he was taken by slavers from Rohan. He was only a boy then, not the young man he is now. He was happy for the two elves. They at least had each other to rely on.

"So, my friends, tell me. How have you been enjoying your stay in lovely Harad?" the Gondorian asked sarcastically.

A moment later, Housyar's voice interrupted the conversation, telling them that the guards were coming back. The man and two elves climbed to their feet and went back to work.

After a few minutes, Aravis heard Housyar's whispered voice interrupt the companionable silence. His words were meant only for Legolas's ears, but being an elf, Aravis heard them as well.

"What did you see?" the old man asked, as though he knew exactly what Legolas was thinking. Looking up, Aravis saw that Legolas's cerulean eyes were fixed on the stone pillars in the distance.

Aravis continued to work as Legolas sighed and answered sadly, "My brother."

Housyar made a "hmm" noise before speaking again. "The desert," he began, "often speaks to us when we are at our most desperate." Here he hesitated before adding, "I saw my father."

Aravis heaved a great breath and released a sigh. The she-elf had seen Laurina, her greatest, childhood friend. Laurina had died nearly a century ago. The two friends had been in a scouting party together, about to meet up with the rest of the company of soldiers to report their findings. Aravis had been acting as rear guard and Laurina had been front guard. The small group had been ambushed by orcs and Laurina had been killed by an arrow to the heart. Even now, the pain of the golden haired elleth's passing had only eased a small amount. Laurina had been like a sister to her, but out there in the desert, Laurina had asked Aravis why she had not saved her, why she had not protected her and accused her of never caring about her. To this day, she still felt guilty about Laurina's death; even though she logically knew there was nothing she could have done.

"I really hate this place." The beautiful elleth thought with a rueful shake of her head.

The day of work slowly came to an end and everyone made their way for the evening meal.

Aravis was waiting in the long line with the Legolas and some of the others when she was roughly pushed forward. She managed to keep her balance and neatly turn on her heels. She came face to face with one brown eye and one pale eye. Atash was seething.

Legolas immediately put himself between the two, trying to protect Aravis, even though he knew she really did not need his help. He was about to punch the arrogant half-blind man when he felt Aravis's hand on his arm, gently pushing him aside. Legolas complied after a moment's hesitation and a glare, worthy of both Thranduil and Elrond, directed at the enraged man before him.

A soon as Legolas stepped aside, Atash began to yell in Haradric. Aravis's eyes narrowed as she tried to catch some of the words she had learned so far, but he was speaking too rapidly for her to understand.

As soon as he stopped for a breath, Glaeder translated. "He says… that you have insulted him and the blood of his tribe. He will make you pay for your crimes." Glaeder coughed back a laugh. "How dare a woman attack a man or get in his way." And then Glaeder added as an aside, a smile breaking on his face, "I think you embarrassed him."

Housyar put a hand over his mouth to cover his own growing smile. Atash was a fool and he never learned.

"Glaeder," Aravis began, without taking her steely gaze form the burly man in front of her, "will you asking him if it makes him feel like more of a man when he strikes little, defenseless children?"

Glaeder did, and with every word that passed the Gondorian's lips, Atash's face grew redder. When Glaeder finished, Atash's face was akin to a tomato and the infuriated man spit on the ground before Aravis's feet. He bellowed a few words in Haradric, spun on his heels and stomped out of the tent. Aravis did not need a translation to those last words to understand their meaning.

Eothaid, Glaeder, Housyar and many of the slaves in the tent were near hysterics. They were all failing to hold back chuckles and smiles. Aravis shook her head, smiled and turned to get her meal.

Finally after dinner, the exhausted elves were allowed to sleep. Legolas ungracefully flopped down onto his sleeping pallet and barely bothered to cover himself with his blanket. Turning to his side, he allowed his mind to wander, waiting for Aravis to lie down.

Aravis also dropped, though not as ungracefully as Legolas, onto her sleeping pallet. She too lay on her side, facing away from Legolas. She had grown to like sleeping so close to him, with his arm wrapped around her middle. It comforted her in a way words could not. She was not alone in this awful place.

Reaching down towards the blanket by her feat, she tugged the warm material up to her shoulders and settled in for some much needed rest. Legolas's arm did find its way around her waist and he pulled her a little bit closer to himself then she had been. Aravis smiled in the dark while much needed sleep began to claim her mind.

Her eyes were glazing over in sleep when Aravis felt Legolas's fingers twitching on her thigh. "What was he doing?" she thought. All she wanted to do was sleep, so she attempted to ignore it. Legolas was probably sleeping and did not know he was doing it. When the twitching did not stop, Aravis rolled over to see if he was awake. As she did, she realized that Legolas's arm was still around her waist and his hand could be nowhere near her thigh.

As soon as her back touched the ground, an incredible, burning, piercing pain came from where the twitching was. Aravis cried out in shock and agony. It felt as though her leg was on fire and that fire was spreading!

She felt Legolas jerk beside her and everyone jumped awake at her cry. Chaos reigned for a few precious moments as Aravis threw the blanket off of her. In the dimly lit room, Aravis saw a most hideous creature that was a little smaller than her hand. The small, greenish- yellowish creature had eight legs, two of which were larger than the rest, and a curved tail arching above itself. She quickly scooted backwards as her lungs drew short gasps of air. She felt like she could not breathe!

Legolas saw the disgusting looking thing and took the jar of water that was close to their sleeping area. He immediately brought the jar down hard on top of the creature. With a satisfying crunch, Legolas knew it was dead, but he checked just to make sure.

Looking to Aravis, he saw her gripping her thigh with one hand and her chest with the other. Her face was ashen and agony and fear contorted her features. The she-elf was gasping for air, wheezing as she tried to inhale and found that she could not.

Never before had Aravis felt as though she were simultaneously drowning and burning alive.

* * *

Hey everybody! Thanks for reading!

Thank you Snips95 and Metoochoclate for reviewing the last chapter. you guys have been great. seriously, if you didnt review, there would be **no** reviews! SO thank you!

OH! i forgot to mention, last chapter, both Legolas and Aravis experienced actual symptoms of dehydration (obviously)- Leg cramps ( just cramps in general), headaches, swelling of the tongue, thirst (duh), fatigue and hallucinations. People can live between 2 - 10ish days without water (some sites even said 14 days! i did not know that!) . in the desert, you can really only last two though, but since they're elves they survived 3 days. Recovery for dehydration requires drinking water and increasing electrolytes in the body. one way to do that is to eat fruit.

i did a bit or research :D

anyway! thanks everyone for reading and please dont forget to review. i really wanna know what everyone thinks. i feel totally out of my element. i really dont write much so i would really appreciate any feedback.

thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Leaping forward, the blonde elf was at Aravis's side in one moment. He cradled her seemingly frail body in his arms, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Housyar and Delaram rushed forward to see if they could help the two beings on the floor, while Glaeder checked to make sure the scorpion was indeed dead. Aravis could barely breathe and every time she inhaled, she felt her throat closing a little more.

When Aravis's symptoms did not abate after a moment, Legolas bellowed, not caring who he woke. "What is wrong with her?"

"They are called scorpions. Um…. Deathstalker, I believe the Haradrim call this particular kind." Glaeder answered for Housyar as the old man bent to his knees to examine the writhing and shaking elleth.

Legolas was about to ask what they should do when Housyar's accented voice interrupted him.

"I have seen many stings from the Deathstalker, and I have only ever seen a few react as badly as she." Sadness filled the old man's brown eyes as he continued. "Normally, only a child or an old man such as me would react to the creature's poison as she has, but I have witnessed times when strong, young men fall …victim to it as well."

Legolas's face contorted in pain for a moment as he processed the aged man's words. "Victim?" he finally asked, not wanting to believe what he was being told.

"Yes," Housyar whispered with his head bowed, "There is no cure for this. She does not have long left." He put a comforting hand on the elf's broad, muscular shoulder. With his knees popping, he stood up and stepped back a few feet, trying to give the elves some privacy. He encouraged all of the sixty or so onlookers to do the same.

Legolas, still cradling Aravis's form, leaned over and began to murmur reassurances in her ear and praying to Eru for mercy.

Even from this distance, Housyar could see that Aravis was not going to last another ten minutes. Her face was pale and her lips were beginning to turn blue. The pain on her face was nearly unbearable to see. Housyar knew that a creature with such a beautiful face should never have to know such suffering, but this was Harad. In Harad, all things suffered, even the elves.

The young she-elf struggled for breath, opening and closing her mouth as though she were mimicking a fish. She could scarcely draw sufficient breath and she was beginning to see black spot in her vision. Aravis did not even have enough breath to scream from the pain coursing through her body. She felt as though all the fires of Orodruin had been poured into her veins and she was burning alive from the inside out!

Housyar continued to watch, as did everyone else, as the she-elf died. With a sad shake of his head, the old man looked away. He had hoped that these two would be able to help the slaves here. He did not really know what he had expected from them, but he had secretly hoped that they would be able to free everyone.

But now, the blonde elf would never be the same when his mate died. Legolas would probably give up on life when the love of his life passed from this world.

Suddenly, there was a change on Aravis's face. Her features had been warring between panic and pain for the last few agonizingly slow minutes. Now however, the panic had won and her body's need to breathe took precedence over all else. The female's frail hand, not the one around her throat in a subconscious attempt to loosen whatever was choking her, found Legolas's forearm and gripped it tightly.

Aravis's knuckles were white as though she held onto Legolas for dear life. Her body was arching and twitching and shaking in a futile attempt to draw in more breath. Legolas looked her in the eyes, tears coming to his own. They shone brightly, even in the dimly lit room.

While continuing to hold her, Legolas put one of his hands to Aravis's chest and closed his eyes. Housyar assumed that it was some elven tradition of death that he was watching. Aravis's body, weakened from lack of air, slowed its twitching as her life began to fade. Aravis's eyes began to glaze with death and her steadfast grip on her lover's forearm slackened. The she-elf's hand dropped bonelessly to her side and Housyar knew, with great sadness entering his soul, that the lovely elf was gone.

He was startled, however, when Aravis suddenly took an almighty breath, her back arching once again to draw in the precious air it needed. He saw the blonde elf open his tired eyes at exactly the same moment.

Aravis began to cough and she took another breath. Delaram was the first to recover from shock and she ran over to assist the two elves. Soon after, shocked whispers rose from the occupants of the tent.

Legolas continued to hold Aravis, almost afraid to let go of her. He had nearly lost her and he could not let that happen. Feeling someone's eyes on him, Legolas wearily turned to see both Glaeder and Housyar staring at him in wonder and perhaps a little bit of suspicion.

Aravis continued to take large gulps of air, trying to calm her body down. Her heart was racing. After a few minutes, she was able to sit up on her own. With shaky hands she pulled up her shortened breeches to take a look at the sting. There was a small cut with a bit of smeared blood leaking out of it. The area around the sting was red and swollen and there was a darkened line under the skin that traveled up towards her hip. It was the poison in her.

When the she-elf saw this, she turned to Legolas and embraced him in a strong hug, breathing in his scent. She was grateful that Eru granted her more time with the one she loved. She had felt herself slipping away, but Legolas had kept her there.

A little while later, everyone went back to sleep, but Legolas kept watch over Aravis during the night. He was disturbed to see that she was sleeping with her eyes closed due to her body being weakened by the effects of the poison. Thankfully, she slept peacefully. Every once in a while, the ellon would reach out a hand and feel for a pulse or brush a few fingers against her cheek.

Housyar and Glaeder had waited until everyone was asleep before approaching the young elf. When they rose from their pallets, they saw that he was still awake. The elf reached out a hand and smoothed some of the she-elf's hair. Housyar realized that Legolas was still afraid for her. Aravis should have died, that much Housyar knows. When people have reactions like that, they die within a few minutes. Perhaps she survived because she was an elf, but Housyar did not think so. And the look on Glaeder's face said that he concurred with Housyar's thought on the matter.

Glaeder softly whispered the elf's name as they both sat down. Legolas turned towards them, unsure of what they wanted at this late hour. Of course, he had an inkling that they wanted to talk about what had happened an hour ago.

"How is she?" Glaeder asked with his brows furrowed in concern.

"Better." was all he said.

Housyar looked to Glaeder with a raised brow. Getting a straight answer out of the elf was like pulling teeth.

Legolas had seen the look and he immediately got on the defensive. While he was grateful for their help and he considered the men to be friends, he was not entirely sure if he completely trusted them. People, particularly men, had strange ideas about elves and their…uses.

In that moment, the youthful elf's visage was transformed. Even in this dull light, his eyes became like sharpened steel and he exuded a strength, a power that was seen in few people, much less a slave in Harad. The golden haired elf seemed ancient beyond his years, beyond anything Housyar had known. His eyes looked so old. Housyar had thought that the elf was at the most twenty-five years old, but now…

"How old are you?" the old man blurted out, before his mind could try to stop his mouth.

Neither Legolas nor Glaeder were expecting such a question. Legolas's eyes narrowed even further as he tried to understand exactly what it was that the men wanted from him.

"Five hundred….and seventy two."

Both men's brows shot up their foreheads at his reply. They looked a bit like Elrond, when Elladan, Elrohir and he come back from their latest disaster, and Legolas had difficulty not laughing at their expressions. Thank Eru that Ada had made him go to council meetings! After all those hours of pointless drabble, the blonde elf was able to control his facial expressions most of the time.

"Wait, so how old are you? Comparatively, I mean." Glaeder asked, not quite sure he could wrap his mind around this.

"Well," Legolas started, drawing the word out before continuing, "I believe I am…" He looked up, trying to do the math in his head, "twenty-three or twenty-four, but I am not sure about that number. Someone explained it to me once, but I was not really listening." He smirked as he thought of the long and boring lectures Erestor used to give. What Legolas would not give to be there with the boring, old elf instead of being in Harad.

The men nodded their heads in acceptance. They seemed to be able to grasp Legolas's age better when relating it to the age of a Man.

Glaeder chuckled a bit a said, "So, when you said that your people train form the age of childhood, you really meant that you have hundreds of years to train?"

Legolas smiled and looked down as he nodded. The elf had purposely worded it so his answer did not reveal too much of the nature of elves.

Housyar looked a bit confused and asked, "How long do elves normally live?" but it was Glaeder who answered him.

"They say that elves live forever. I had not believed such tales, but it seems they were true."

It was a moment before Housyar asked another question. "So, did you heal her?" he asked as he nodded towards the sleeping she-elf. Housyar was not one to beat around the cactus.

Legolas nodded before speaking in a very quiet voice. The two men had to lean forward to hear him. "Yes, I did. We are …connected in our souls. I'm not sure how it works, and it does not always work. Eru grants me the power to do it sometimes." He finished with a shrug, suddenly unsure of himself. The blonde elf did not even really talk about these things with anyone. No one really knew just how bound the two elves were to each other.

Housyar marveled at how young Legolas suddenly looked, so incredibly different from before.

Legolas was not entirely able to stifle a yawn and the two men took pity on him. The Housyar and Glaeder went back to their sleeping pallets while Legolas lay down next to Aravis's sleeping form. The young ellon carefully snaked an arm around Aravis's waist.

He had been terrified, unable to help her. Watching her suffocate had nearly snuffed out his own life. Legolas knew, had always known, that he would never be able to live without her. He loved her more than his own life and he was so thankful to Eru for sparing her….and himself.

Legolas leaned forward slightly. He was so close he could smell Aravis's hair. Breathing deeply, Legolas closed his eyes against the tears that threatened to spill out from his eyes and said a prayer to Eru, thanking him for his mercy on them. He soon drifted to sleep, thinking about better days.

The next morning came far too quickly once again. The morning horn sounded in the distance and all the tent's occupants rose for another day of work.

However before any of them could make it to the tent flaps, Mehrzad and a number of heavily armed guards came bursting into the tent.

With a meaty hand, the scarred Haradrim pointed at the two elves. The guards rushed forward and roughly grabbed them. They proceeded to drag them from the tent.

"Farhang-see you. Now." was all the chief guard said before the group hauled the two elves towards Farhang's home at the edge of the oasis.

* * *

hey everyone! thanks so much for reading and sticking with me! within the next few chapters things are going to be picking up speed! i am really excited :D

Thank you Snips95 fro reviewing my last chapter. Thank you for your encouraging words. and im sorry if i confused you before. its a scorpion lol

speaking of scorpions, this particular nasty scorpion is called a Deathstalker. (its a real one, i promise.)

the symptoms i looked up were kinda vague. extreme pain mostly. some people, mostly children and the elderly, die from the venom. but people can have allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) to the poison and can die from Pulmonary edema (water in the lungs). i couldnt really find anything on a natural anti-venom, so the Haradrim dont have one.

translations - Orodruin means Fiery Moutain AKA Mount Doom.

**Ages**. ok so i had to look this up too. Legolas is never actually given an age in LOTR. many people beleive that he was born in the Third Age. ive read somethings that say Legolas is older than 500 but younger than 4000. So i made up my own age (sticking to the younger age) and i havent reallt read anywhere where elvish ages are explained so i made my own too (P.S. Aravis is 3 years younger than Legolas -which i will mention in a later chapter)

at the time of FOTR (25-26 human years) - Legolas was 678 years old.

**Now in Harad (23-24 human years) - he is 572 (almost 100 years prior to FOTR)**

An elf becomes an adult (somewhere between 18 and 20 human years old) - 300 years old

13-15 human years - 200 years old

10 Human years old- 100 years old

4-5 human years- 50 years old

2 Human years - 10 years old- (i figure it would be torture to have a baby/toddler for longer than twenty or thirty years)

ok thats it! thanks so much for reading and Please dont forget to review. i appreciate and carefully consider what you guys say. i Love feedback and it really does make me write faster.

Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

The bright, morning sun rose above the dunes of Harad. Farhang watched as pinks and reds colored the sky. A slight breeze blew across the sands. It was going to be a beautiful day.

Footsteps interrupted Farhang's thoughts. Turning his head ever so slightly, the fat man continued to ignore Mehrzad, his guards and the two elves as they entered the house's main hall. Farhang stood on the pavilion attached to the hall, staring out into the desert.

The Gathering had been weighing on his mind these last few days. Since Kourash sent the messenger hawk from Jahandar, Farhang had been anxious. The Gathering, a council of all current Haradric tribes, was coming to Farhang's property this year. Since Kourash was the leader of the most powerful tribe of Harad, by law he was given the right to decide where the Gathering took place. Farhang had assumed that this year, like last year, the Gathering would take place in a more centralized location, such as Sedjet-Merew, Kourash's home city.

The question of "Why?" had been plaguing Farhang for what seemed like an eternity. Why would Kourash come to Farhang. Farhang's property was the farthest place in the west. His land was the last resting place, the last oasis, before the long, twenty day march to Southern Gondor. Harnen, the river separating Gondor and Harad, was the first place to get any water in that long stretch. It just did not make sense.

Mehrzad cleared his throat behind Farhang. The plump man's face contorted with anger. What insolence Mehrzad possessed! The man was a guard! He had not right to clear his throat, much less lick the soles of Farhang's sandals. He would need to keep an eye on the scarred guard.

Composing his face, Farhang swiftly turned on his heel. His flowing robes danced through the air as he walked towards a decorated chair, his throne, at the end of the hall. The man flicked back his robes as he took a seat. Leaning forward, he gestures for Mehrzad to bring the two creatures forward.

Farhang stroked his trimmed beard as he looked the two elves over. Both elves seemed agitated, but that was understandable, all things considered. They had been captured and sold, beaten and tortured. This was probably a bad few weeks for them.

The male jerked his arm out of Mehrzad's grasp as he was led forward. Ah, spirit.

Mehrzad made to strike the elf, but Farhang stood and told him to step back. Anger flashed across the guard's face, but he obediently, although reluctantly, took two steps back.

Farhang stood and took a few steps closeer to inspect them. Their fair skin was now quite red from the sun. Their wounds from the whipping and the branding were healing nicely enough. It did not seem as though any infection was setting in.

Farhang was actually surprised that they were still alive. No normal human would have been able to survive three days without water and then work in the fields the next day. Yet, here they were, still standing. They even seemed that they would be able to put up a good fight right now, if they needed to. They just appeared so….weak.

No matter. He just needed them to live for a little while longer.

"What are your names?" Farhang asked in that same strangely lilted Westron that Housyar spoke. Farhang was never more thankful to his abusive, demanding father then right now. The old man had taught him to speak the language of the West and now he would use that knowledge to help himself. He paced as he waited for them to answer.

Legolas glanced over at Aravis, who was standing to his left. They had already told the other slaves their names. If any of them were interrogated, they would tell Farhang the truth. The elves had no choice but to be honest, no matter what game Farhang was playing.

"Legolas and Aravis." He said as he spoke for both of them.

Farhang nodded before asking, "And from where do you hail?"

Again, Legolas looked to Aravis. She was not making eye contact with him. Her eyes were tracking every move Farhang made. She looked like a huntress, tracking her prey.

Legolas looked back at the elaborately dressed man and answered. "Imladris."

"Where is …Il-ma-dres?" Farhang asked. He had obviously never heard of the place before and Legolas was not going to make it easy for him.

The tall elf opened his mouth to answer, but Aravis beat him to it. "West of the Misty Mountains, but east of the Trollshaws."

"Ah! So she speaks." He exclaimed with joy on his face. He quickly walked forward until he was standing directly in front of the she-elf. Legolas tensed as the plump man got close, ready to defend her. Mehrzad and the guards also present in the room saw Legolas's body tense and they prepared to defend their lord. Aravis, for her part, looked completely relaxed, save for her eyes. Her eyes were hard as she stared at the pompous man before her.

"What a most beautiful creature you are." The man whispered as his eyes traveled slowly over her body. Legolas ground his teeth together and clenched his fists as anger welled within him. Every fiber of Legolas's being screamed for him to kill this man. How dare he look at his bond mate this way!

Seemingly mesmerized, Farhang reached out a hand towards her face. Legolas was barely able to restrain himself from shoving the fool backwards, but Mehrzad's presence, and that of his wicked sword, kept him from actually doing so. Farhang's hand was only an inch from Aravis's face when she violently jerked her head back, clearing showing her disgust at being touched by him.

The trance was broken and Farhang pulled his hand back, as though he had been burned. At moment later, a disgusting smile covered his face as he leered at Aravis. His eyes once again roved over her.

A strange light entered his eyes as he spoke, "I would take you for my own, Aravis of Ilmadres, if it were not for our strict laws forbidding such an act." Legolas's stomach clenched as he heard the words the pig of a man said to Aravis.

Farhang stared at her for a moment longer, before swiftly turning on his heel and making his way back to his seat. He sat down heavily and considered the two in front of him again.

After a minute of silence, he spoke again. "What are the names of you fathers?"

"For what purpose do you wish to these names?" Legolas asked with a furrowed brow, even though he had a pretty good idea what it was that Farhang wanted.

"I will release you to your homeland, when the ransom demand I will send to your people has been paid. In order for you to be released, I must know the names to which I must send my request." He stated with a sickeningly sweet smile plastered to his face. The fat man was lying through his teeth.

"No." both Legolas and Aravis answered at the same time.

Shaking his head, Farhang gestured to Mehrzad. He had hoped the elves would be reasonable. Mehrzad quickly unsheathed his sword and viciously brought the hilt down on Legolas's head.

The blonde elf fell to his knees as blood began to drip from his hair. The brutish guard was about to land another blow on Legolas's head when Aravis raised her hands in a placating gesture and cried out, "Haldir! My father's name is Haldir. I am Aravis, daughter of Haldir. He is Legolas, son of Erestor. Stop! Please. No more."

Mehrzad looked to his lord, waiting for more instruction. When Farhang gestured for him to step back, he did.

Farhang smiled, thinking he had gotten the better of them. He spoke a few words in Haradric and the guards rushed forward. Legolas was forced to his feet and the two were escorted back to the fields.

Farhang grabbed his goblet of wine and took a large swallow. The elvesof Ilmadres would get him whatever he required, riches beyond his wildest dreams. This was working out better than he had hoped.

The long day drew to an end and once again the slaves found themselves headed towards the meal tent. Housyar, Glaeder , Legolas and Eothaid walked behind Delaram and Aravis. The small group of friends was watching the children, Asfhan, Boosah and Kontar, play up ahead of them.

Legolas saw someone, out to of the corner of his eye, run behind the meal tent. Curiosity, he knew, was dangerous, but he could not resist.

Legolas broke away from the group and began to walk towards the side of the tent. The men noticed Legolas walk off and they exchanged glances. After a few shrugs, the men followed the elf too.

Legolas warily watched the guards that were escorting them. When the closest one looked away, Legolas ducked around the tent corner. He took a few more steps when he heard someone behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Housyar, Glaeder and Eothaid following.

The elf gave them a smile and continued to follow the tracks around the tent. When Legolas and the men came to the far end of the tent, they cautiously peered around the corner. They saw Atash crouching in the sand, turning over some rocks.

Legolas narrowed his eyes as he watched Atash. He seemed to be looking for something. What could he possibly be doing?

Atash cautiously flipped over another rock, when he jumped backwards in surprise. He quickly recovered and waited with a hand in the air, poised to strike. After a minute, he quickly reached down and pulled his hand back to examine his catch.

Legolas's eyes widened as he saw what was in Atash's hand. The half-blind man was holding a scorpion by the tail, being careful to avoid the stinger. The scorpion writhed as Atash held it, but it was unable to sting him or free himself. It was the same kind that had attacked Aravis yesterday.

Legolas looked to the other men to confirm his suspicions. They all had narrowed eyes and anger clearly written on their faces.

The elf needed to be sure though, so he motioned for the others to follow him and they pulled back. They went back around the tent to the front and ducked inside. All four of them cautiously lifted the tent flap a small amount to peer outside. A moment later, Atash came around and made his way towards the elves sleeping tent. He looked around as he walked, making sure no one could see him. He entered the tent and Legolas stealthily ran the distance between the tents.

He stopped and once again peered into the tent. He and the men watched as Atash slowly made his way over to the elves sleeping area. Anger boiled in the blonde elf. Atash had put the scorpion in Aravis's blanket! He had tried to kill her.

A snarl came to Legolas's face and he threw back the tent flap. Legolas charged into the room and Atash turned at the last second with shock written on his features. With inhuman speed, Legolas crossed the distance and knocked the burly man to the ground. The scorpion went flying out of Atash's hand and skittered along the gound. Housyar and Glaeder rushed after him, attempting to stop Legolas from killing the Haradrim, while Eothaid quickly grabbed one of the water jugs and crushed the scorpion.

Legolas and Atash crashed into the floor. The two beings struggled, each attempting to gain the upper hand. Legolas heaved the man to the side and quickly straddled him. He pulled back a fist and punched the man in the jaw with all his might. He did it again and again and again. When he heard a crack, he realized that he broke the man's nose. Legolas grabbed the man's jaw to make sure that he was listening.

Atash coughed on the blood dripping from his nose. The seething elf's face was only a few inches from Atash's own. Legolas was breathing heavily from the adrenaline and there was murder in his eyes.

Legolas, without taking his eyes from Atash, spoke to the men standing to the side. "Will someone tell this orc-spawn that I _will_ kill him if he tries _anything _again? I will make him wish that he was never born if he tries to hurt her." He paused here before hissing, "I will kill him."

Housyar spoke a few words in Haradric and Atash's face went stark white. Legolas released the man and Atash stumbled to his feet. He fearfully looked at the men and the elf, fully expecting to be killed. When none of them made a move to attack, he quickly made his way towards the exit. He just reached the tent flaps when Aravis stepped through. The half-blind man stumbled back in fear. Aravis gave the man a cold look before slowly stepping aside, allowing him to pass.

Aravis's eyes tracked the man as he left and when he went back to the meal tent, she turned around. "What was that all about?" she asked with a smile on her face.

* * *

Hey everyone! thanks so much fro reading!

I just want to thank Alli, Snips95 and Metoochocolate for reviewing the last chapter! i really appreciate the reviews. u guys have been great!

I'm sorry that this chapter wasnt all that exciting, but it is really just a gap filler. its going to pick up really soon (within 2 chaptersish) lol

character recap!

Mehrzad is the chief guard.

Farhang is the land owner that Legolas and Aravis belong to.

Farhangs tribe is Jahandar, the strongest tribe in Harad

Kourash is the chieftan of said tribe.

Kourash lives in Sedjet-Merew, the city

Housyar (Haradric)is the old man who is the unofficial leader of all the slaves that belong to Farhang

Atash is a trouble making slave

Kontar(male), Asfhan(F) and Boosah(F) are a few slave children.

Glaeder - Gondorian slave

Eothaid is the Rohirric slave

Anyway, thank your for reading. I would love it if everyone left reveiws and/or feedback. i love constructive criticism! let me know what you think.

(and then you can check out my other stories. hahaha)

Thank you! and Happy Easter! - remember! He was born to Die, but He was also born to Rise !


	9. Chapter 9

And so it was for nearly six whole weeks. The elves and the humans spent their time harvesting the crops in the fields. The two elves had become quite tan and their hair had lightened considerably. Legolas was beginning to look more and more like Glorfindel every day. His head was becoming even more golden. Their wounds had healed nicely, though some, including the brands, had scared and would take many, many years to heal.

Both Legolas and Aravis became close friends with the slaves they worked with and the Men were astonished at the rate of which the elves learned Haradric. What the Men did not know, was that the elves knew many languages due to their position as emissaries and ambassadors for their fathers and people. After nearly six weeks of hearing the language all the time, the elves were nearly fluent.

Also in that time, Farhang sent out a convoy to reach Imladris. The messengers had left only a few days after the elves had conferenced with Farhang. Aravis and Legolas had laughed as they watched the convoy leave the farm land. The Haradrim had no idea where they were actually heading and the clever elves had given Farhang false names for their fathers. To reveal their true identity would spell disaster for them and put their parents in a terrible position. So Aravis had given Farhang the names Erestor and Haldir instead. Erestor actually did reside in Imladris, but Haldir, the March Warden, lived in Lothlorien. By the time the convoy made it to Imladris, the elves intended to be long gone. Hopefully, Farhang would never know.

Thankfully, Atash had not given the elves any more problems. He had gotten Legolas's threatening message when he had tried to kill the elves again. The half-blind man kept his distance and never gave the elves or Housyar any problems after that day.

The only real problem that the elves were having, besides being a slave in the middle of the Haradric desert, was Mehrzad. The cruel chief guard went deliberately out of his way to make life difficult for the elves. He patrolled around them the most often while they worked in the fields and the continually watched them throughout the day.

But thankfully, the slaves had reached the day that marked mid-harvest. Housyar had explained to Legolas and Aravis the night before that the mid-harvest was actually a sacred day in Harad and that the slaves were given this one day a year to themselves. They did not have to work and there would be a large celebration that night.

So, the next morning was the first time that Legolas and Aravis did not wake to the sound of that cursed horn sounding in the distance.

Legolas slowly blinked the sleep from his eyes as the world came into focus. Inhaling deeply, Legolas pulled Aravis a bit closer to himself. He would have been content to stay this way all day.

Since it was a few hours after dawn and no one in the tent had yet to stir, Legolas relaxed his mind and he once again began to drift into elven sleep. A moment later, there was a hushed yelp and both Legolas and Aravis started upright out of their sleep. Housyar and Glaeder bolted up from their sleep in search of the noise. Kontar was staring at the elves with fear in his overly wide eyes.

After exchanging glances with the elves, Glaeder reached out a hand to Kontar and quietly asked, "What is it?"

Kontar's only reply was to point to the elves before him and whisper, "They were dead."

After a moment of silence, Aravis's shoulders began to shake with suppressed laughter. A moment after that Legolas, Housyar and Glaeder joined her in quite laughter.

Glaeder turned the boy towards him and said, "See Kontar? It was just a dream. Legolas and Aravis are very much alive."

Kontar seemed to debate with himself for a few moments before letting a tentative smile cross his face. Perhaps he had dreamed that the elves' eyes had been open.

After the friends had eaten a hearty mid-harvest breakfast, the men and women went about preparing for the night's festivities.

The males went about setting up large, open tents at the edge of camp while the females put up brightly colored decorations. By the time it was mid afternoon, everything was ready.

There were three large tents at the southern edge of camp. Each tent was a simple cloth stretched over poles in the sand. Each tent was open, with no sides. There were brightly colored streamers attached to the edges of the tents that blew in the breeze. Each pole also had the streamers wrapped around them.

A fire pit was created and soon a blazing fire was roaring. Strange Haradrim instruments were brought out from Farhang's home and some of the slaves began to play. Loud, foreign music with quick tempos began to float through the air. The Mid-Harvest Celebration had begun.

Food was made and drinks were served and the mood of the party was light. There were many dances and customs that Housyar and the others insisted that the elves learn. Some dances were danced by both sexes and some were danced alone. During one of the women's dances, Legolas saw Glaeder standing alone and went to stand beside him.

Legolas looked to Glaeder and saw that the man was staring at the dancing women. Well, he was staring at one dancing woman. Delaram, to be specific.

The young elf rolled his eyes at the Gondorian before elbowing him in the side. "Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" he asked loud enough that only Glaeder would hear him above the music. The Gondorian seemed to jump as his head whipped around to look at Legolas. The man looked a little guilty before blandly saying, "I don't know what you mean."

Legolas laughed sharply before clapping the man on the shoulder, "I have been with you nearly every day these last weeks and I have seen the way you look at her. It is the same way I look at Aravis. You love her… and you should tell her."

Glaeder's brows drew together as he considered what the elf said. The man looked down at his feet for a few moments before bringing his eyes back up. They eagerly flicked through the crows of dancing women before resting on Delaram.

"I do care for her, but…" he trailed off, unable to put his thoughts into words.

Legolas studied his face for a moment, before quietly adding, " But it would seem as though you had given up."

Glaeder once again started and looked into the elf's eyes. The elf suddenly looked so old again, like he had in the tent many weeks ago. How was it that the elf always seemed to know what he was thinking?

Glaeder turned his eyes from Legolas again. He looked back to Delaram as she danced and twirled with the others. She was beautiful.

"Sometimes, I dream about going home. I dream about seeing my family again, and sometimes I dream about what it would be like if I married Delaram." He hesitated before continuing. "I feel that if I were to pursue her, it would be accepting my fate here. I do not wish to remain in this place for the rest of my life. I want to go home." The Gondorian's voice, laced with uncertainty, trailed off. His face was one of uncertainty and fear.

Legolas thought a moment before replying, "What if you combine your dreams? Take Delaram with you. You have a family here whether you admit it to yourself or not. Both Kontar and Eothaid look to you as a father already. Delaram sees you as more than a friend and she sees herself as the mother of Asfhan and Boosah. Why do you not take them back to Gondor? It will be the completion of both of you dreams."

Glaeder simply stared into the crowd of dancers as he contemplated what the elf said. Legolas could practically see the thoughts swirling in his mind. After nearly ten whole minutes, a slow, tentative smile crossed the man's face. He looked to Legolas and said, "Thank you." before sprinting off to Delaram.

Legolas smiled as he saw the excitement on the other man's face. He slowly turned his attention to the dancing woman as Glaeder had before. He caught sight of Aravis. She was dancing with the woman, but she was far more graceful then the rest. She wove her way through the crowd and twirled as the others did. It was something Legolas had always admired about her. There was little difference between her dancing ability and her battle abilities. Both were amazing.

Aravis looked so happy right now. There was a smile on her face as she just enjoyed the night. Legolas could almost forget that they were slaves. It almost seemed as though they were home celebrating the first day of spring.

As he watched, Eothaid came to stand next to him and Legolas heard Housyar's voice as he was telling a story to a large group of children.

"They say that the creature still bears the girls appearance and sings as she once did. The creature walks the sands, the dunes, the shadowed places of Harad." He slunk a bit lower and leaned in as though he were telling the children a secret before continuing. "They say… that when you see the small girl and hear her beautiful voice, that you will be her next victim. It comes for you next!"

All the children exchanged fearful glances and Housyar leaned back in his seat, trying not to smile at the children's expressions. A moment later he launched into another, more light-hearted tale.

Legolas turned to Eothaid. The young, blonde haired man had also been listening to the old man's tale.

"What was that about?" Legolas asked.

"The Kem Kekewey, or just the Kekewey. It is a tall tale of a horrible, black creature that steals the body of its victims. Apparently, many centuries ago, a small girl was killed by the thing and now many claim to see it. They say that she has not aged and that when you hear her voice and see her blackened eyes, you will be her next kill." He laughed before adding, "Housyar used to like to tell me that story before I went to sleep."

Legolas digested that information before asking, "What does Kem Kekewey mean?"

Eothaid thought for a moment, trying to find an equivalent to the Haradirc words. "I believe… it means black darkness, but I am not positive on that translation."

Legolas nodded his head and continued to listen as Housyar spun a tale of epic proportions and it was not long until Aravis and the others gathered around as well. Everyone listened long into the night.

The next morning came far too soon and most of the slaves were still feeling the effects of the wine from the night before. They had all drank too much.

After eating breakfast, the slaves slowly made their way to the fields. No one was in the mood to work after last night. Most people were stalling and it was not long before Mehrzad noticed.

"Get to work!" the chief guard cried out as he reached for and unbuckled the whip at his side.

A loud whinny sounded in the distance before Mehrzad could crack his whip. All heads turned sharply towards the noise.

A lone rider, dressed in the fashion of Jahandar, sat upon on a pale horse that stood at the crest of a dune at the eastern edge of the farm. The morning sun rose behind the rider as he urged his powerful horse into a slow gallop down the sand dune. The Haradrim rider slowly made his way towards the groups of guards and slaves.

Legolas peered intently at the newcomer with narrowed eyes. Little could be seen of the man's face, save his dark eyes. The rider bore a strange head covering that wrapped around the lower part of his face as well. All that was visible were his eyes and brows.

After nearly five minutes, the armored rider came to a stop before Mehrzad. The rider inclined his head slightly in greeting before sticking his jaw up in a sign of dominance. Mehrzad was quick to bow at the waist when he saw the rider's gesture.

After nearly a minute of silence, the rider, still sitting on his horse, unlatched the clothe covering his face and said in a deep, scratchy voice, "Tell your master… that Kourash is coming and that the council is with him. They will be here by harvest's end. "

* * *

hey everyone!

im sooooo sorry about the like 2 week delay! life got crazy! a good crazy, but i didnt have time to write. again- i am sooo sorry! i hate it when that happens to stories im reading! that being said, i really want to finish this story up ASAP so im gunna try to write in bulk but still post a chap a week. then when i actually finish the story, hopefully within the next month, im just gunna post the whole thing online.

so i know this chapter was a bit slow and not much happened but its kinda a gap filler again. next chapter i am sooo excited about!

thank u everyone for reading and thank u Leeana, Snips95 and Metoochocolate for your reviews. i really appreciate it! you guys make it easier and more fun to write.

thanks again!


	10. Chapter 10

Five weeks later, Legolas began to notice a change in the guards and the slaves. Everyone seemed tense. The ellon knew deep inside him that this was the deep breath before the cry, the clam before the storm. Something was about to happen and everything was about to change.

Preparations were being made for the Gathering. The council of Haradric leaders would be here very soon and a large, elaborate tent system was pitched at the southern edge of camp. There was one large tent surrounded by two rings of smaller, but still quite large tents. The central tent was the main meeting area. This is where the negotiations would be taking place. This tent was lavishly decorated with colorful clothe and beautiful furniture.

The first ring of tents surrounding the central tent would house the members of each of the major tribes. There were ten tents for the ten most powerful and largest tribes in Harad. Of course, Jahandar had the largest tent, since it was the strongest. Each tent was evenly spaced in the circle with plenty of room between. This way, no one would be able to overhear any conversation taking place inside the tents and each tribe could have their guards patrol their tents.

The second ring was comprised of the seven minor tribes of Harad. These tents were also evenly spaced around the central tent. Each tent had a large wooden pole in the ground before its entrance. So far, only the tent of Jahandar had its flag erected on the pole. As each tribe comes to Farhang's land, their flag will also be put up. Between each of the tents, there were large torches to help illuminate the area. No one wanted any unexpected attacks and the well lit area would help keep people civil.

Or at least that's what they hoped.

Legolas was worried though. There was another tent outside the rings of tents. It was at the southern edge of the tents, a good distance away from the rest. Housyar said he has been to Gatherings before and the setup was always the same, save for the lone tent. The old man had never heard of anything like this. The Gathering was a time for strict tradition and the deviation from Haradric customs was worrisome.

So, today while most of the slaves were working in the fields to finish the last of the harvest, Legolas, Glaeder and a few others were called to the eastern edge of camp. As they drew closer, Legolas realized that another caravan had arrived with supplies for the Gathering. There were five large woven baskets that they now needed to move to the tents.

With a simple look and a nod, Legolas and Glaeder agreed to help each other carry one of the baskets. Swiftly grabbing the handles, Legolas and Glaeder bent their legs and lifted up.

This basket was heavier than the others. The elf and man grew tired quickly as they made their way across camp. About half way through camp, Legolas and Glaeder needed to rest. They set the chest high basket down and sat down for a few minutes. Well, Glaeder lay down on his back in the sand.

The two passed the time in silence and Glaeder's heavy breathing could be heard. Legolas's brows furrowed as he considered their cargo. "The basket was heavy! What could possibly be in there?"

Looking up, Legoals took a closer look at the seal around the top. The elf's keen eyes saw something black seeping between the lid and the basket and he got up to investigate. In a few quick steps, Legolas covered the distance and he reached a hand to see what the substance was.

Legolas's fingers came in contact with a thick, not-quite liquid goo. The elf rubbed it between his fingers. The black stuff was sticky. The blonde brought his fingers to his nose and took a sniff, trying to determine what it was.

Legolas's eyes widened and he quickly went to work on the latches keeping the lid on the basket. After a half a minute, Legolas cautiously peeled back the lid to peer inside. The elf's eyes simply grew bigger in astonishment.

"Glaeder!" Legolas called urgently to the man, without taking his eyes from the contents of the basket.

Only Glaeder's head moved as he lifted it to peer at Legolas from his prone position on the ground. He really did not want to get up right now.

When Glaeder did not respond after a few second, Legolas looked up, rolled his eyes and waved Glaeder over. The man sighed exasperatedly and slowly got up. Legolas held the lid up and stepped back to allow the man to see inside the container.

Glaeder's eyes grew large too as he realized what he was looking at. "Pitch!" was all he said before turning to the elf in surprise.

Legolas smiled predatorily, a plan forming in his mind. He nodded slowly. "I have an idea."

That night, Farhang was pacing the halls of his home. The fat man released a growl as he realized the extent of the position he had gotten himself into. The man abruptly changed directions and made his way out onto the pavilion. He leaned his substantial weight against the railing.

Nothing was turning out the way he had hoped! The convoy should have been back by now! Where were they? They should have been back with the elven riches.

The land owner sighed deeply and did not hear the feet approach him from behind.

"What is it, my lord?" Mehrzad asked irritably. How he hated the fat man!

Farhang nearly jumped out of his skin when the scarred guard spoke behind him. The fat man turned a not-so intimidating glare on the chief guard.

After a moment, he turned back to look at his land and said, "The convoy has not returned and Kourash will be here within the next few days. When he finds out that I have had these elves here and I have nothing to show for it… he will not be pleased with me. Having their elven treasure would have helped secure my position in Jahandar. Perhaps just having the elves will be enough…" Farhang's voice trailed off as he thought about his options. Kourash was not a forgiving man. He had had the elves for nearly three months now and not told his chieftain.

Farhang brought a weary hand to his face. He had nothing to offer the chieftain. He was doomed.

A sharp pain exploded from Farhang's back and the man gasped. He could barely breathe! It felt as though his whole back was on fire. Again there was another spike of pain, as Farhang felt something being ripped from his upper back.

Shock and pain covered his face as he heaved a shuddering breath and collapsed to his knees. A moment later, Mehzad's cruel, smiling face came into view, brandishing a jagged knife that was shimmering with blood.

"You… are a weak and pathetic excuse for a man. You are not worthy of the position you possess and you are not worthy of Jahandar." The scarred man sneered. Mehrzad leaned close to Farhang's ear and whispered, "I will do what you were never capable of doing. I will use those elves to secure Kourash's favor. "

Farhang's pained eyes pleaded with the guard as he struggled to draw breath, but Mehrzad simply lifted a booted foot and kicked the fat man to the ground. Farhang's heavy body crashed into the floor and Mehrzad slowly made his way over to the dying man. The guard leaned down and cleaned his bloodied knife on Farhang's robes. Once the blade was cleaned, Mehrzad sheathed the knife and reached a calloused hand towards Farhang's smooth hand. The guard roughly pulled Farhang's Jahandar ring off of his pinky finger.

The dying man made a small noise and breathed his last. Straightening himself, Mehrzad quietly slipped the ring onto his finger and made his way towards Farhang's seat in the main hall. Once he reached it, he sat down and smiled and watched Farhang's blood pool on the floor.

The next morning, the slaves were woken by a loud trumpet sounding in the distance. Legolas blinked lethargically and sat up on his palette.

That was not the same trumpet that the elves had woken up to every morning for the last three months. The elf curiously looked around and saw that Housyar was hurriedly walking this way and that way, making sure that everyone was getting up.

Legolas looked curiously to Glaeder and the man simply said, "Kourash is here."

Aravis and Legolas exchanged glances. They felt a strong sense of foreboding again. Something bad was going to happen.

A moment later, the guards burst through the tent flaps and began to usher the slaves outside. When the slaves did not move fast enough, the guards began to get violent. They pulled out their whips and used them liberally while shoving the slaves towards the exit. Finally all the tent's occupants were outside and one of the guards gave the command to kneel.

The slaves shared dubious looks before slowly complying with the order. Once they were all kneeling, Legolas saw Farhang – no, Mehrzad – walking towards them in flowing robes.

Legolas looked worriedly at Housyar, but the old man simply shook his head, silently pleading with the elf to remain silent.

The former guard made his way past the gathered slaves and came to a stop. He turned to face the north east. Legolas looked there as well and spotted a large caravan of camels and horses and men making their way towards Farhang's land. A flag bearer bore the sign of Jahandar.

After nearly twenty minutes of kneeling in the hot sand, the travelers came to the gathered slaves and guards. All were silent and the caravan came to a halt. No one spoke a word as one large, black horse and its rider made its way towards the front. He was flanked by five heavily armed guards.

The rider stopped a few yards from Mehrzad and peered down at him. Little could be seen of the man. He wore the same kind of head covering the messenger that had come a few weeks ago had. Nothing could be seen of his face save his eyes.

The rider's eyes narrowed and they flicked about the slaves and guards. Mehrzad bowed low before straightening his body. However, he kept his face angled down. "Chieftan." was all the scarred guard said.

"Ah, so this is Kourash, the Chieftain of Jahandar." Legolas thought.

A moment later, Kourash, still atop his was horse, gave Mehrzad a slight nod and pulled on the reins of his horse. The war horse began to canter towards the meeting tents.

As the Chieftain and his caravan passed, Mehrzad released an unsteady breath and visibly relaxed. A second later, the former guard whirled on his feet and began barking orders at the slaves.

Legolas looked once again to Housyar for an explanation, but the old man shook his head.

What was going on?

Hours later, Kourash and the rest of the Chieftain's caravan were settled in their tents, the other diplomats were arriving and Mehrzad asked for an audience with his chieftain.

The scarred man pushed back a tent flap and ducked inside the main room in Jahandar's tent. As soon as his feet passed the threshold, he kneeled before all those present. All talking ceased and Mehrzad risked a quick glance towards his chieftain. Kourash was seated comfortably on a pile of cushions and around him were his advisors and the five guards.

Mehrzad had never seen Kourash before. The chieftain had an angular face with sharp cheek bones and even sharper, black eyes. The man's hair fell in long coils of matted hair that reached past the man's chest. He was an intimidating man to behold.

Mehrzad waited in silence for Kourash to acknowledge his presence. The former guard was at Kourash's mercy for killing Farhang. Kourash held Mehrzad's life in his hands.

"Speak." Kourash's scratchy commanded.

Mehrzad cleared his throat before speaking. "I am Mehrzad, your servant, my Lord. I am the owner of these lands."

"Truly? I had believed that Farhang possessed the land." The chieftain replied, almost tauntingly.

Mehrzad nodded while choosing his next words carefully. "Farhang was not fit to lead, my Lord. He was not fit to be Jahandar. He was disgracing you and your people, my Lord."

Kourash nodded and seemed to be considering the man's answer. These were the politics of Harad. If one man believed that another brought dishonor to their tribe, the dishonorable man was killed. The justification of killing a sloth like Farhang was not unattainable. Mehrzad knew this happened more often than not. The balance of power in Harad was constantly shifting like the wind blowing the sands.

Kourash nodded and flicked his hand towards Mehrzad, signaling him to leave. He did not want to be bothered with this. "We shall see." was all he said, but Mehrzad did not get up. Kourash looked suspiciously at Mehrzad, before looking at him expectantly. Mehrzad raised his head a little bit, in order to be able to see into the Chieftain's eyes.

"I have two elves here, my Lord." Mehrzad said.

Kourash's eyes widened a bit, before they narrowed once again. "Bring them." The astonished silence was punctuated by the man raising a fist and smacking it down on his leg. "Now!"

It was only an hour until sunset when the slaves came back from the fields. The harvest was nearly over and there was not much work left to be done.

Legolas, Aravis and their new friends were walking to the meal tent, when a sudden chill crawled down their spins. Cold and dread filled their beings and they found it difficult to draw breath. They stopped walking and the other noticed. The Men asked the elves what was wrong, but the two did not answer. The elves stood silently as though listening. Their posture was rigid and their breathing shallow.

Aravis looked to Legolas and saw him shiver. A moment later, her frame shook as well. They knew this feeling!

Meeting each other's eyes, they knew it came from the south of the farm land.

Both Legolas and Aravis took off at a sprint and the others followed, now clearly worried for their friends. When the small group came to the Gathering tents, they hid behind some piles of supplies in order to escape any detection.

Three black horses with three cloaked, black riders were dismounting and making their way to the lone tent outside of the Gathering tents. Pure evil radiated from them.

Aravis looked to Legolas with naked fear in her eyes.

There were Nazgul in Harad!

* * *

hey everyone!

again - i apologize for not getting this in last week! im having a hard time trying to keep to my deadlines, but i am not giving up! i promise. i will finish this story.

on that note, its actually about half way done :D

Thank u everyone who has kept reading. thank u crazy-wee-cat, freddie23, snips95, and metoochocolate for your reviews. you guys make this a lot of fun to write. :D you guys are amazing!

thanks everyone!


	11. Chapter 11

The riders stopped and turned their heads towards where the small group was hiding. Legolas roughly pulled Aravis down behind their cover and motioned for the others to do the same. Glaeder needed no warning. As soon as he had seen the riders, he had pulled Delaram to the ground too. Only Housyar had resisted because he did not understand what those creatures were.

The old man looked questioningly at the elves and the Gondorian and opened his mouth to voice said question, when he was silenced by a raised finger at Legolas's lips. The elf shook his head and seemed to be waiting.

Aravis shivered as she felt the wraith's eyes upon them. Even through the supplies they were hiding behind, she could still feel the power in their gaze. The elleth carefully peaked through a small opening between two of the body-high supply jars in order to see the enemy.

After a few moments the undead creatures came to a silent consensus and, as one, they swiftly turned their bodies towards their tent and marched on. Instantly, the elves felt the pressure on their chests lift and the darkness retreat from their minds. Looking around, Legolas saw that even the Men were also able to sense the absence of the Nazgul's gaze.

The small band of friends waited in silence for a few minutes to ensure their safety. After the time passed, Legolas drew a few deep breaths and quickly gained his feet. He spoke hurridly and quietly as the others followed suit.

"We must leave, now. There is no more time to waste." the tall elf spoke urgently and spun on his heels, heading towards their tents.

Housyar's weathered hand caught the elf's arm, not allowing him to continue. "Wait!" he commanded, "Who are those men and why do you fear them? Why does their appearance in Harad make you flee now?" The old man's face wrinkled with confusion.

Aravis shook her head as she interrupted Legolas before he could evenspeak. "Surely even you can feel their evil?" When Housyar gave a slight nod, the elleth continued. "They are Nazgul," she practically spat the words in disgust, "servants of Sauron. They are neither living, nor dead. Their presence here in Harad is an ill omen. No good could come of their being here. They are evil." As she finished, she quickly began to make her way back towards the tents and Legolas swiftly followed. There was not much time left to act.

The old man looked to Glaeder for confirmation. The Gondorian's brows drew close together as he spoke, "I do not think I can explain to you just how bad this situation has become, my friend. Come, there is little time left. We must make haste." With that, Housyar, Glaeder and Delaram followed after the elves.

The two men and the woman entered their tent and found the elves quickly rolling up their bedrolls and grabbing their spare clothes.

Glaeder quickly followed the elves' example and began to pack not only his things, but Kontar and Eothaid's as well. Delaram rushed to her supplies that she shared with Asfhan and Boosah and began to get them ready. Housyar, still reluctant to attempt any kind of an escape, shook his head and tried to reason with his friends.

"Where would we go? We cannot make it to Gondor. It is impossible. We would only be able to make the journey on camels and the camels here are under heavy guard! We would be killed on sight if we strayed too close! Those camels are the only way anyone like Kourash or the other dignitaries can make it to their homes alive. The guards will give their lives for those camels." the old man spoke with great conviction.

The rapidly moving hands of all those preparing their supplies slowed as they considered the question. After a long pause, Delaram's voice cut through the silence.

"What of Mes-en Shay? We _could_ make it their on foot."

Legolas's head snapped up to stare at the woman. "What is this place? Where is it?" he asked eagerly.

"It is a city to the north east. It is about two or three days walking distance from here." Delaram replied.

Both Legolas and Aravis exchanged a look. If they followed Delaram to this city, it would take them farther from home, but it would be safer for them than here… maybe. They definitely could not stay here without the wraith eventually knowing of their presence. Being a prisoner of the Nazgul would be a fate worse than death. They could attempt to steal some camel, apparently those creatures do not need much water, but Housyar was right. The beasts are heavily guarded by a multitude of guards. It _would_ be impossible for this group, which includes an old man and three children, to successfully steal some camels unnoticed.

Both the fair beings knew what their only option really was. They had to try to make an escape for Mes-en Shay and they had to do it tonight.

One hour later, the sun had finished its graceful trek across the sky and sunk below the horizon, leaving the land in blessed coolness. The farm lands were mostly quiet. Patrolling guards passed from time to time, the slaves were quietly eating and talking in the meal tent and the Haradrim Council members were settling in. All seemed calm, peaceful even, but a sense of dread had thickly covered the land and all the people could feel it. Though none, save perhaps the elves, knew its source.

Housyar, Glaeder, Delaram, Eothaid, Kontar, Asfhan, Boosah, and the two elves were nearly prepared to leave their tent when two different groups of patrol guards stopped just outside. All the tent's occupants froze as they listened.

"Have you seen the elves?" one guard quickly asked another.

"No, why?" another guard answered.

"Merzhad is looking for them. They are to be presented before Kourash and the guests of the Gathering, I believe." The first guard replied with an impatient tone.

Detecting the tone, the second guard spoke irritably, "Check the meal tent!"

There was a moment of silence, before the guards began to disperse from the tent's entrance. A muffled sneeze resonated from within the tent and all startled eyes turned towards Kontar, who had a hand covering his mouth.

Legolas's heart rate spiked as he heard the guards pause in their walk. After agonizingly slow seconds passed, the guards "harrumphed" and went on their way. All the tents occupants breathed a sigh in relief and made their way to the tent exit.

Peeling back the flap, the small group made its way out. Housyar, Delaram and the children made their way to the fields where they would wait for the others. Aravis, Legolas , Eothaid and Glaeder went to make a distraction.

During the last hour, the adults had alternately snuck out to where the store of pitch was and had taken some. Some they had kept and divvied up into carryable jars but a lot of it, Legolas and Aravis had used. Being elves, it was easier for them to sneak around. So, in key places they had smeared the pitch without any of the guards noticing. Since it was dark, no one would be able to see the pitch unless they happened to step in it, which the elves had made certain would not happen.

While the elves had been busy preparing the pitch, the others gathered enough food and water for five days. It should only take them two or three days to travel to the city, but they wanted to have extra supplies just in case.

So the two elves and the two men quietly made their way towards where the crops from this years' harvest were being stored. There were three guards patrolling the large granary. They obviously were not suspecting an attack. With simply a look, the two elves and the Gondorian went to take out the enemy.

Aravis quietly ran low to the ground as she made her way up behind one of the guards. Just as she was about to rise to her full height and snap his neck, a strangled cry emitted from Glaeder's victim. Aravis's guard whipped around before she could grab him. The guard yelped slightly as Aravis unleashed a particularly vicious attack to the man's temple. Her strike was true as the man's eyes rolled back and his body slumped to the ground.

The four people ran into the granary and began spreading and dumping copious amounts of the pitch on and around the food.

When they believed they had done a sufficient job of spreading the pitch, Eothaid grabbed a lit torch from its stand on the wall and threw it into the pitch. A fire quickly blazed and rapidly began to spread. They small band had precious little time before the granary would be engulfed in flame.

Once again, the four beings were on the move. They hastily made their way across camp, lighting the previously smeared pitch as they went.

The group had to quickly duck behind the barracks as a group of guards nearly crossed their paths. Taking a look around, Legolas noticed that the buildings were slowly catching fire, but it did not seem as if anyone had noticed yet. He probably only saw that it was actually the buildings and not their torches that burned because of his elven eyes.

Just as he thought this, the entire granary went up in flames and a moment later a loud horn sounded in the distance. This was where it became difficult.

The four crouched against the barracks wall as a multitude of guards rushed towards the granary to extinguish the flames. As soon as there was a break in the stream of guards the two men ran for the supplies where the remaining body-high jars of pitch were and the two elves ran for the group of camels. Legolas and Aravis ran tightly together, ducking behind every shadow until they were right outside the pen of camels and their guards were. They took up a position where the guards would not be able to see them through the numerous camels and horses. The two elves worked quickly as they soaked some long pieces of rags in the pitch. When they were don both Arabis and Legolas lit one clean rag each, to light the pitch, and quickly made their way into the pen. They strategically placed and lit their pitch covered rags and jars.

After only a few minutes, the two had finished as they made their way out of the pen. The animals at first did not seem disturbed, but after those few minutes they were becoming increasingly agitated. The first few horses whinnied as one of the pitch jars cracked loudly in the night as the pitch became too hot for it to hold. The pitch jar had been lying in some hay, so it was not long before the hay was ablaze with fire. The guards began to frantically try to douse the flames, but to no avail. The fires were spreading and the animals were frantically trying to escape their tethers. They were becoming violent.

The elves started to make their way towards the fields, when there was a large explosion of fire that lit up the night sky coming from the supply tent. The animals and guards cried out in fright and the two elves jumped in surprise. Both Legolas and Aravis exchanged wide eyed, open mouthed looks. They had not been expecting that!

Wasting no more time, the two began their quiet run to the fields, hopping that the two men were well and not harmed. Everything was on fire. The tents were ablaze and people were running this way and that trying to control the flames. People were shouting and screaming as they ran and moved about. Slaves and guards alike were working together to save the food, the supplies and the buildings. The chaos was actually beneficial. No one seemed to notice the two as they ran.

The ellon and the elleth quickly made their way around one of the barracks walls, intending to make a straight shot right for their waiting friends, when a burly, solid figure threw itself into the two unsuspecting elves. All three bodies and the elves' heads crashed into the solid barracks' wall.

Legolas's head spun alarmingly as he tried to right himself. He could see Aravis trying to do the same. The large figure stepped over her, grabbed a fistful of hair, drew back a meaty fist and punched the elleth squarely in the face. Legolas screamed in rage as he tried to get his muddled brain and suddenly boneless limbs to cooperate. Aravis's body slumped to the ground.

The figure slowly turned towards the elf, who was struggling to get his feet underneath him. The man's sweaty face came into view as the fire light lit his features. Mehrzad stood before him with a sneer upon his face and malice and murder in his eyes. The man quickly placed two beefy hands around Legolas's neck and started to squeeze.

The man was not going to present him before Kourash or the Nazgul, Mehrzad was going to him right there! Legolas's body began to buck and fight but his limbs would simply not cooperate they way he wanted them too, the way they were trained. Legolas's vision began to grey as he struggled against the man.

Suddenly, Legolas saw a dark blur pass before his eyes and he found that he could breathe again. Turning his head, he saw Glaeder on top of the former guard, punching him into oblivion.

The blonde ellon breathed a ragged breath before carefully sitting up and trying to get to Aravis. Thankfully, Eothaid was with her and helping her sit up.

A moment later, Glaeder, who was wiping his bloody hands on his tunic, came over to the three and motioned for them to hurry. The strong Gonodrian hasilty helped the elf prince to his feet and they all made their way towards the fields.

Some ten minutes later, the four beings met up with the rest of the group and they started heading north east. While helping the children, they made their way across the low river and into the desert before them. The group ran for nearly an hour before they stopped to break. By now the elves were able to walk unassisted and they acted as rear guards for the company, straining ears and eyes to determine if they were being followed. After a few minutes, the group ran again for roughly an hour. They continued this was for some time. The children grew tired quickly and the elves and the men rotated carrying the three. They managed this for a few hours. When the group saw that it was nearly midnight, they started walking instead of running. They were all exhausted.

Aravis smiled pleasantly as she looked behind her and saw that the group's tracks were being erased from the sand by the light desert wind. She was fairly confident no one would be able to find them. When the late watches came, she noticed Legolas looking back towards the farm lands. Only she and Legolas could still see the fires glowing at the horizon. Their small group had covered a lot of ground in that short time, but it might not be enough. Turning around, they continued to walk.

Finally dawn came and the sun peaked above the horizon. Strangely, the sun held no comfort for Legolas here. All he saw was an endless stretch of sand that would soon be a burning sea of fire, waiting to claim their very lives.

* * *

Hey everyone! i am soooooo sorry this is soo freaking late! im rele sorry guys. :( im trying to be better

thank u soo much for reading! and reviewing i really appreciate it!

thank u Metoochocolate, Wtiger5, freddie23, and Snips95 for ur reviews on the last chapter. u guys are awesome.

so this might be a little confusing about what they call the times in the lotr universe. so i went with the lotr online version. here it is for those of u who care. i do mention late watches in this chap.

_Dawn ~ Morning ~ Noon ~ Afternoon ~ Dusk__  
**Night:** Gloaming ~ Evening ~ Midnight ~ Late Watches ~ Foredawn _

for those of u who care : Mes-en Shay is Mes-en which means born of, and Shay which means Sand. ill explain the name prob next chap. and its egyptian, or at least that's whta the internet tell me ;)

i love constructive criticism so please leave me some in ur reviews or just let me know what u think. again i apologize for this being weeks late.

again, thank u everyone! u guys have been great!


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